UPDATE @ 10:16 p.m.: A second person - the other male displaced by the couch fire — now has been taken to Miami Valley Hospital, also for health issues unrelated to the fire, Dayton Fire Battalion Chief Cheryl Clark said.
The cause of the fire is not definite, but firefighters think someone may have been smoking while sitting on a couch and set the piece of furniture ablaze. The fire is not considered suspicious, she said.
The fire apparently began in the front living room. Flames had spread to an upstairs apartment, displacing one occupant on the first floor and two from the second floor, by the time Dayton crews were able to get inside.
The female occupant is on oxygen and there was a tank inside, but it was not a problem, Clark said.
None of the conditions of the occupants is considered life-threatening, the battalion chief said, and fire crews did rescue a cat.
Clark characterized the damage as “pretty significant.”
UPDATE @ 9:45 p.m.: One of the residents, a male, has been taken to a hospital from the couch fire at the Dayton apartment on East Third Street. His condition is not known.
There is a hole in the roof, created by the flames. Firefighters are continuing to comb through what’s left of the first-floor apartment.
UPDATE @ 9:06 p.m.: East Third Street is closed between South Garfield and South Van Lear streets because of the fire and Red Cross has been called to assist the residents of the apartment building.
According to fire crews, the residents include a 55-year-old woman and two males, ages 53 and 68.
An arson investigator has been called to the scene as well.
FIRST REPORT
A couch fire in an East Third Street apartment prompted an evacuation.
Several Dayton fire crews were dispatched about 8:50 p.m. to a building in the 2200 block of East Third, where the residents were forced out by the flames and smoke.
We’re hearing that flames were making their way up a wall in the apartment. There are no reports of any injuries.
We have a crew on scene.
Traffic in the area will be affected because of the incident, so drivers making their way through the area should use caution.
We will bring you updates on this developing report as we get them. For the latest on breaking news delivered to your mobile device, download the WHIO news app by clicking the link.