Emergency crews responded to the area of Miami Chapel Road and Trieschman Avenue at 4:16 p.m. for the reported fire, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Center records.
Multiple callers reported the fire, and told dispatchers that both the house and vehicle were unoccupied, records said, which fire crews confirmed on arrival.
Dayton Fire Department District Chief Adam Landis said that when crews arrived, the vehicle was between the houses, and fire from the vehicle had spread to both.
Landis said that fire crews went inside the houses to fight the fire, but were forced to move back outside when parts of the homes began to collapse. He said this was a very intense fire, partly due to windy conditions and the newer, more lightweight construction of the homes caused them to collapse more quickly.
A second alarm was issued due to how large the fire was, but eventually crews were able to put out the fire, first knocking it down from the outside before going back inside.
Landis said that the homes were likely a total loss, and that the Red Cross had been called to help the families who lived in the houses.
The district chief said that everyone inside the homes were outside by the time crews arrived, and no injuries were reported. He added that before fire crews arrived, people outside the homes saw the fire and knocked on the doors to get the families out.
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