VANDALIA — Firefighters dealt with hot and extra smoky conditions while battling a massive house fire on Friday morning.
The fire happened at a home on Cambron Court in Vandalia. News Center 7’s Taylor Robertson talked with the fire chief, who said the home could not be saved.
The entire roof of the house was destroyed during the fire.
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When News Center 7 arrived on the scene, flames were coming through the windows. Firefighters had to use their ladder truck to spray water down on the roof while firefighters on the ground poured water into the windows.
Vandalia Fire Chief Chad Follick said, “The building was 60-70% involved in fire when we got here.”
Follick also said they called in other departments for aid because of how hot and humid it was outside.
“We’ve been trying to rotate these guys through, even on defensive operations, guys that are working very diligently to stretch line and get line in position. It gets hot and overwhelmed very quickly. We want to get them in rotation and get them hydrated, keep them safe,” Follick said.
The sky around the neighborhood was mixed with smoke from the house fire and the Canadian wildfire smoke that blew into the Miami Valley.
“When we got here, there was no visibility in the backyard, so we had to get some light thrown back there,” Follick said.
It’s not ideal, but Follick said his crew knows how to handle conditions like this.
“And then just making them aware that anytime they’re in that environment where they’re sucking down bad air, that they need to have on their masks, using their masks,” Follick said.
He said thankfully the people who live in the house were not home at the time of the fire. No one was injured, but their animals were inside, and firefighters could not reach them.
>> PREVIOUS STORY: Fire destroys home in Vandalia neighborhood
“Once we knew that there was no life safety involved with humans, no humans inside, we transitioned very quickly to a defensive fire operation from pretty much the time we got here,” Follick said.
Fire investigators are still working to determine what caused the fire. Follick said he could take weeks to get answers.
However, fire officials said an emergency demolition has been ordered for the house.
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