Aaliyah Seabrooks and Alex Pearson
21 minutes ago
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – More than 20 people were evacuated after a fire broke out at a Fairview apartment building Thursday night.
The fire broke out on West Fairview Avenue just after 9 p.m., and the response was almost immediate. Firefighters from several local agencies were on the scene for several hours and brought the blaze under control.
Fire officials told 2 NEWS that an unattended cooking fire started in one of the units and spread throughout the building. Within four minutes, Dayton Fire was on the scene.
Crews from Trotwood, Butler Township and Kettering also responded. Officials said the damage found after the fire was extinguished was extensive.
The American Red Cross said 30 homes were damaged and 27 of them were occupied. Nearly 30 people said they had nowhere to go after being evacuated from the building due to a power outage.
Assistant Fire Chief Brad French is using this opportunity to remind people what to do in the event of a grease fire while cooking.
“That's kind of counterintuitive, because a lot of times you'd think, 'Oh, it's fire, let's throw water on it.'” And that's not really what you should do. You need to shut off the heat, stop the grease heating process immediately, cover it with something or use a fire extinguisher,” French said.
