UPDATE @ 6:15 p.m. (May 11):
The family who lived in an apartment where a 2-year-old died in a fire used the rear entrance to the home and had stored old furniture near the front door which blocked firefighters on Sunday.
Chance Poindexter was found in a first floor bathroom of a Trade Square West apartment.
Police Detective Chris Tilley said police and sheriff’s deputies who arrived first at the fire around 12:30 a.m. were unable to get in through a front door because a couch was on its end in front of the door. He said the family had purchased new furniture and was storing the old furniture there until it could be picked up.
The residents of the six-unit building used back entrances because the parking lot is behind the building, Tilley said. The back door reportedly was in flames, blocking that entry.
The boy’s father, Jamaal Poindexter, 32, was sitting outside the apartment on a back patio and had fallen asleep when the fire was discovered, Tilley said. He was treated and released from Upper Valley Medical Center.
The child’s mother was not home at the time. A 4-year-old sibling was with grandparents, Tilley said.
Miami County Coroner Dr. William Ginn said preliminary findings suggest the boy’s death was due to asphyxiation by inhalation of combustible materials.
Fire Chief Matt Simmons said the department is working with the state fire marshal’s office to determine the cause.
Police Capt. Chris Anderson said police and fire officials, once both are done with separate investigations, “will meet and discuss the case, possibly with the prosecutor.”
Simmons said mechanical equipment in the apartment will undergo testing to help pinpoint the cause of the fire, which investigators think started on the first floor. Police said the kitchen area near the door was possibly where the fire started.
Investigators need to talk more with Jamaal Poindexter and other witnesses need to be interviewed, Simmons said.
Damage to the building and contents was estimated at roughly $700,000, Simmons said.
UPDATE @ 8:15 p.m.:
Troy police identified the 2-year-old boy who was killed in a fire early today that burned his father.
Chance Poindexter, 2, was found in a downstairs bathroom. He was killed possibly from smoke inhalation, according to police.
UPDATE @ 11:58 a.m.:
A 2-year-old boy died and his father suffered burns early today in an apartment fire.
Crews were dispatched at 12:20 a.m. to the multi-unit apartment complex in the 1400 block of Trade Square West on a reported large structure fire with people trapped inside.
Troy police and deputies from the Miami County Sheriff’s Office were the first to arrive on scene but were unable to make entry into the burning apartment because of furniture that was propped up against the front door.
Firefighters from Piqua, Covington and Tipp City assisted Troy Fire and were able to rescue a man who suffered burns and was transported to Upper Valley Medical Center.
The man’s 2-year-old son was unaccounted when crews arrived, but was later pronounced dead when his body was found after the fire was extinguished.
The cause of the fire has not been identified, and investigators have requested to state fire marshal to the scene.
Twelve other residents in the apartment complex were able to safely evacuate and have been displaced as a result of the fire. They are receiving assistance from the Northern Miami Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.
