Family escapes house fire after mother smells smoke

DAYTON — UPDATE @ 3:08 a.m.:

A family has been displaced after a fire in the upper floor of a house in the 1300 block of Pursell Avenue.

According to Dayton Fire Department District Chief David Wright, fire crews were called to the story-and-a-half house after the resident smelled smoke and got her child and pet out. There were no injuries in this fire.

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Wright said that fire crews found the fire upstairs and took an aggressive approach, fighting the fire from inside the house.

Crews ran into some difficulty, though, due to the fire extending behind knee walls in the second story. The district chief explained that knee walls are common in houses with finished attic spaces, and are shorter walls that rise to meet the sloped roof, creating a triangular storage space behind them.

Wright said that the damage is mostly confined to the upper floor, but that room was “pretty much gutted.”

When asked if the house had smoke detectors, Wright said that he hadn’t heard any but that the fire had been intense enough that it could have melted a detector.

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UPDATE @ 2:04 a.m.:

Our crew on the scene reported that the fire is likely out at a house in the 1300 block of Pursell Avenue.

Our photographer reported that there is only smoke visible from the upper floor of the house now, and that firefighters were investigating inside.

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INITIAL REPORT:

Fire crews are on the scene of a fire in a house in the 1300 block of Pursell Avenue in Dayton.

Initial reports said that there was smoke and some flames coming from the second floor.

Reports also said that all the occupants of the house had escaped.

We are working to learn more and will update this story with any new information.