Historic Wright Brothers airplane factory in Dayton damaged by fire

Dayton Fire Department crews on Monday continued to douse hot spots. Crews initially were dispatched just before 2:30 a.m. Sunday to Inland Avenue and West Third Street on reports of a structure fire, according to Capt. Brad French.

When firefighters arrived, they found heavy fire conditions throughout a large commercial building complex, French said.

“The structure involved in this fire incident is of national historic significance,” French said in a release. “It is listed on the National Historic Register as the first aircraft manufacturing facility founded by the Wright Brothers, and currently stands as the oldest aircraft manufacturing facility in the world.”

Mackensie Wittmer, executive director of the National Aviation Heritage Area, said the preservation group was “deeply saddened by the fire that damaged our historic Wright Company airplane factory.”

Wittmer added, “We are grateful to the fire department for their quick and brave response, and we are working to assess the extent of the damage and the impact on our heritage.”

The combination of the intensity of the fire throughout the building and the fire breaching the roof prevented firefighters from interior operations, French said. Attack hose lines from exterior positions and multiple aerial ladders drawing water down into openings into the roof were used to extinguish the fire, he said.

Additional resources were requested, including fire apparatus from other areas and the City of Dayton Department of Water, ensuring water pressure to attack the fire.

Flames still could be seen on the backside of the hangars at 2:10 p.m., and black smoke continued to stream from a collection of multiple hangar buildings.

Dayton fire crews remained on the scene at 4:30 p.m., French told this news outlet, more than 14 hours after the fire first was reported.

“It’s just one of those situations where it’s a difficult fire to fight because of access challenges to the building,” he said.

No injuries were reported.

DFD Fire Investigations Unit is investigating the cause of the fire, French said Sunday afternoon.

He said it was too early for a damage estimate.

“That’s going to be something that’s going to be an extensive process just in itself, with the historic nature of the building and things like that,” he said.

The fire occurred “in a lot of different portions of the complex,” French said.

He called it a complex structure with several interconnected buildings.

“It’s kind of tough to describe, but there was a lot of fire kind of throughout the complex and so which ones specifically were damaged and how much, it’s kind of tough to say that until they get in there and do a more thorough damage estimate probably in the days to come,” French said.

French said some of the buildings were the true historic Wright Brothers buildings, and some were added on later, but it was still too early to determine which ones were damaged by the fire.

Anyone with information regarding the fire is encouraged to contact the DFD Fire Investigation Unit at 937-333-8477.

Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright built their first experimental airplanes in the back of their bicycle shop at 1127 W. Third St. In 1909, they then went on to form the Wright Company, which produced around 120 airplanes in 13 different models and introduced industrial aviation, according to NAHA.

The Wright Company factory buildings, which operated between 1910 and 1916, are significant because they were the birthplace of the American aviation industry, according to the National Park Service.

The hangars were part of the former Delphi Home Avenue automotive complex, which closed in 2008. Many of Delphi’s industrial buildings were knocked down.

Several groups have worked to preserve the area as part of an effort to spark redevelopment in west Dayton.

Dayton approved purchasing the Delphi property in 2018, and the Wright Company factory was placed on the National Register of Historic Places the following year.

A partnership established between the city of Dayton and the National Aviation Heritage Alliance in March 2022 to preserve the historic factory buildings seeks to create a new public cultural facility at the site.