Multiple fires set inside vacant house, district chief says

It took Dayton firefighters “a significant amount of time” Thursday afternoon to put out a fire at a vacant house that officials said was intentionally set.

“The investigator on scene has reported this is a verified arson. We had multiple fires set throughout the structure,” said Mike Fasnacht, district chief of the Dayton Fire Department.

Crews were called around 3:30 p.m. to a fire reported at 103 Centre St.

“When we got on scene there was heavy fire on the first floor,” Fasnacht said, and soon after there was heavy fire on the second floor.

No one was inside the house, which has no utilities, and no firefighters were injured, he said.

“Crews were able to knock it down after a significant amount of time. The fire had spread throughout a large structure that actually extends a full city block,” Fasnacht said.

The house is connected by a breezeway to a second building, but firefighters were able to keep it from spreading beyond the initial building, he said.

Neighbors said squatters have been living there.

Fasachnt said there were signs homeless people had been using the house, such as a lot of wood pellets, which were used to set the fires.

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