The fire happened at a mobile home park on Kauffman Road around 3 a.m. Waltz said he woke up and smelled smoke inside his home. He woke his wife and three children and managed to get them out of the burning home.
SLIDESHOW: Fairborn Fire
He said he also grabbed his cell phone and tried to call for help, but it did not work.
Waltz said, “They said, 'where you at'? I said 'Madison Avenue' and they said 'Huber Heights'? I said 'no, Fairborn', and the next thing I know I was transferred again.”
Waltz said Fairborn firefighters did a great job once they showed up, but the delay in getting through to them is upsetting to him.
News Center 7 checked with Huber Heights dispatchers and they said they could not immediately find any record of the 911 call. However, News Center 7 confirmed that one of Waltz’s calls went to the Clark County Dispatch Center and it came up on their screen as coming from New Carlisle.
Waltz said the confusion on the cell phone call should not have happened. He said it should be a lesson for everyone.
He said, “It was frustrating. The 10 minutes until they got here seemed like an eternity.”
Fairborn firefighters said they do not know if Waltz’s calls just skipped to cell towers away from his home or if something else was wrong with his cell phone, which uses T-Mobile service.
Firefighters said they also discovered a smoke detector but it did not have a battery inside.
Waltz told News Center 7 that he changes the batteries every six months, but this one went dead fast and he removed it but had not had the chance to buy a new battery.
Fairborn firefighters are working with an investigator from the state Fire Marshal's Office to pinpoint the cause of the flames. They believe the fire started in the home's kitchen but are still working to gather more information.
Fairborn Fire Marshal Carl Day said, "Fire crews were real quick on their response. Usually when we get to a trailer fire, there's heavy involvement of fire. This time, crews got in quick, kept the fire to a minimum and got it under control pretty quick."
Firefighters said the family cannot stay in the home until it is repaired. The Greene County Red Cross is helping the family with temporary shelter and other needs.