Area firefighters battle 5 different apartment fires in last 2 weeks

MIAMI VALLEY — People are not waking up in their own beds Monday morning after a Fairborn apartment fire Sunday afternoon.

This was the fifth apartment fire across the Miami Valley in the last two weeks.

>>PHOTOS: Firefighters battle fire at Fairborn apartment building

Fairborn firefighters were called to the 400 block of Dayton Drive just before 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

Ryan Williams, Fairborn fire chief, told News Center 7 on Sunday it took fire crews from both Fairborn and Wright Patterson over three hours to put out the fire.

He said they could only battle the flames from the outside due to the strength of the fire and the building’s roof started to collapse.

“Between the weather, size of the building, and multiple fires going on in the Miami Valley, it makes for a really difficult situation,” said Chief Williams. “That’s why we don’t put firefighters in there, so we’re going to make it safe before we put any investigators inside.”

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 2 families displaced, no injuries reported after Fairborn apartment fire

Both families were able to make it out of the building in Fairborn safely, but firefighters think not all their pets did.

The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist those displaced.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott says Sunday’s apartment fire was the fifth in the last two weeks across the area.

The first was in Washington Township on August 3 in the 1000 block of Cambridge Station Road. People woke up to smoke and flames. Firefighters say an electrical problem started the fire.

The second was the next day in Moraine. Firefighters were dispatched on August 4 to the 3400 block of Main Street. Ten families were displaced, and some apartment units were also considered a total loss.

McDermott reports the third happened on August 5 in Harrison Township at the 4100 block of Idle Hour Circle displacing 40 people.

News Center 7 previously reported that a preliminary classified the fire as an accident.

It said the fire is believed to have started when an open flame from a grill sparked flames on a balcony. Investigators estimated total losses of more than a half-million dollars.

The fourth apartment fire was on Saturday in Yellow Springs. Firefighters and officers were dispatched just after 4 a.m. to the 300 block of W. North Street.

News Center 7 previously reported people living at the apartment complex said the state fire marshal as condemned their building.

Yellow Springs City Manager Josue Salmeron said Saturday police were the first to the scene and eight units were “uninhabitable.”

We will continue to provide updates.

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