Space heater blamed for blaze

A space heater is being blamed for causing a house fire on the 1100 block of Broadmoor Ave. Tuesday.

Dayton resident Stuart Gardner got out of the house after sustaining minor injuries and called 9-1-1 from a neighbor’s house.

“I just barely got out,” Gardner breathlessly told the attendant. “Please hurry.”

Crews were able to douse the flames before they extended into the home. Gardner lost his car and garage — a property loss estimated at $55,000.

Retired Dayton fire chief Ron Fleming, who lives nearby, said Gardner was “covered in soot” when he emerged from his home. Gardner was hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

Dayton District Fire Chief Vincent Wiley said Gardner had a space heater running in his garage and that he had had issues with it in the past.

Wiley said fires like the one on Broadmoor Avenue can be avoided if space heater owners are careful not to place their devices near combustible material. They should also not use an extension cord with a heater and should throw them away as soon as they begin to malfunction.

“You don’t want to use portable heating any more than you absolutely have to,” Fleming said.

There were many concerned neighbors Tuesday morning. Jillian Schroeder, who followed smoke to the scene of the fire, said she saw something there that “brought tears to her eyes.”

Passerby on Broadmoor Avenue parked their cars and jumped Gardner’s fence to make sure the house was empty.

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