Fire destroys two houses, damages third on Findlay Street in Dayton Friday morning

DAYTON — Fire crews spent several hours extinguishing a massive fire that caused damage to three houses on Findlay Street in Dayton early Friday morning.

>>PHOTOS: Fire damages three houses on Findlay Street in Dayton Friday morning

First fire crews were called to the area of Findlay and East Third streets around 12:40 a.m. Friday and found one house was completely engulfed in flames and the fire had spread to the neighboring structures on both sides.

Two of the houses were vacant but one was occupied. The occupants of that home were able to safely evacuate before fire crews arrived on scene and no injuries were reported by either firefighters or the families forced to evacuate.

Two families were displaced by the fire and are receiving assistance from the Red Cross, firefighters said.

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Findlay Street House Fire Contributed Photo/Dayton Fire Department

The house where the fire started, which was vacant, and the house to the left are considered total losses, while the house to the right sustained damages estimated around 30 percent of the structure, District Chief Andrew Wiley said in an interview with News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott.

The cause of the fire is unknown and still under investigation.

Firefighters spent nearly six hours on the scene extinguishing the blaze and putting out hot spots. The intensity and size of the fire prompted firefighters to call a second alarm for extra crews and equipment. In total 10 Dayton Fire Department apparatus were called to battle the flames.

“It was a second alarm fire which eventually did bring pretty much every apparatus in the city I think except for one to that fire at one point,” Wiley said. “And that did cause us to recall off duty personnel to cover the rest of the city along with mutual aid apparatus who came in and covered for us as well.”

Mutual aid crews from Kettering were called to assist in coverage, firefighters said.

In addition to battling the flames, firefighters were also battling the cold, Wiley said. While the cold means more crews need to be called, freezing water thrown on the fire also presents additional hazards.

“We had to rotate crews through more often which took more personnel up. Additionally, we also have to worry about the water we use freezing, which causes slip and trip hazards. And it also if we don’t keep water moving for our lawn through our hose lines, they can also freeze,” Wiley said.

Additional details were not released.

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