Barn fire off Frederick Pike in Dayton ‘suspicious’

UPDATE @ 10:15 p.m.

Flames were shooting more than 30 feet into the air tonight after an abandoned barn catches fire.

Dayton firefighters faced a few challenges in getting that blaze under control in a wooded area behind Frederick Pike after crews were called around 6:15 p.m. for a report of smoke in the area.

Witnesses Chris Lewis said he was one of the people who called for help after seeing flames, “this huge orange glow on my lawn, so I’m like OK, that’s a little weird, so I poke my head and there’s just this towering fire behind the house,” he said.

When Lewis ran toward the flames, calling 911 on the way, he said he could feel the heat from across the street.

“It was definitely the biggest fire I’ve ever seen. I was a little freaked out,” he said.

The fire leveled the barn. A car inside the barn caught fire, sparking the blaze, Dayton Fire Department District Chief Barry Baldwin said.

The barn is back in the woods off Frederick Pike, which made it tough for Dayton and Harrison Twp. crews to put out.

“We had several challenges, and it was getting back here through the woods, it was also getting water to our apparatus, getting a supply, and able to get some water on this fire to put it out,” Baldwin said.

This is the second barn fire in recent weeks in the area. The abandoned Weiler Fruit Farm caught fire last month.

“It’s certainly suspicious, there are no utilities to the structure … they may be connected, so I’m sure we’ll be looking into that.”

FIRST REPORT

Flames were shooting nearly 50 feet high tonight from a barn in a wooded area behind Frederick Pike.

Crews were called around 6:15 p.m. to a report of a fire in the area of Frederick Pike and Brantford Road.

Part of Frederick Pike is blocked in the area.

Four fire engines, a ladder truck and medic unit from the Dayton Fire Department is on scene, plus a ladder truck from Harrison Twp., according to the Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Center.

It is not known whether the barn was in use or what could have sparked the blaze at this time. We are on the way and will update this report as we learn details.