Emergency demolition ordered following Dayton house fire

An emergency demolition has been ordered for a Dayton home after it was severely damaged by a fire Sunday night.

>>PHOTOS: Emergency demolition ordered following Dayton house fire

Dayton firefighters and police officers were dispatched just before 6 p.m. to the 1500 block of Chapel Street on initial reports of a house fire.

News Center 7 previously reported that the fire occurred inside a vacant home.

Our news crew at the scene noticed the roof was completely burned out.

News Center 7′s Taylor Robertson checked out the damage during News Center 7′s Daybreak.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Fire crews extinguish vacant Dayton house fire

When firefighters arrived at the scene Sunday night, the house was full of flames to the point that crews could not go inside the house.

The fire also hit two other vacant homes that surrounded the home.

In one of those homes, a dog was found inside the basement unharmed and returned to their owner.

News Center 7 spoke with District Fire Chief Nick Judge who said there are a few reasons why vacant homes go up in flames.

“We do get a lot of fires in vacant buildings up for various reasons, sometimes they’re incendiary nature, sometimes it’s you know, people trying to stay warm in this cold weather,” he said. “So, this time, we’re not really sure but it’s a danger to us, it’s a danger to you know everybody who lives in the neighborhood.”

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Judge is encouraging anyone who sees suspicious activity at a home they know to be vacant to report it to the city.

Robertson said the home on Chapel Street will need an emergency demolition and that is something the city said they are struggling on.

Photos from the scene show damage to not just the house that was on fire but to the adjacent houses as well.

We are working to learn the extent of damage to the other homes.

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