Heavy flames destroy part of Dayton apartment

DAYTON — Heavy flames challenged firefighters as they battled a Dayton apartment fire early Tuesday morning.

As reported on News Center 7′s Daybreak, the fire destroyed part of the apartment.

>>PHOTOS: Firefighters encounter heavy flames while battling Dayton apartment fire

Dayton firefighters and police were dispatched around 3:15 a.m. to the 400 block of N. Cherrywood Avenue on initial reports of an apartment fire.

When firefighters arrived, they discovered heavy fire throughout a three-story apartment.

“The fire was already through the roof in some portions of the building,” said Matt McClain, Dayton District Fire Chief.

He said the heavy fire prevented firefighters from searching for people inside the building.

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McClain added the building had a dividing firewall and it helped firefighters.

“Fortunately that firewall held the fire to one-third of the building,” he told News Center 7. “That really helped our crews out. We really like having these buildings with firewalls built into them. Makes our job easier on a bigger fire like this.”

McClain added that the apartment building has been closed since 2019.

But neighbors told firefighters that people had regularly been “coming and going” from the apartment building.

“Neighbors said there were reports of people coming and going from the apartment building,” said McClain. “The apartment building has been shut down I believe since 2019, so these people aren’t supposed to be here, but we see that sort of thing all the time, people in vacant buildings.”

We will continue to provide updates on this story.

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