Unattended kitchen fire displaces 20+ residents from apartment complex

DAYTON, Ohio ( WDTN ) — More than 20 people were displaced after a fire ripped through an apartment building in Fairview Thursday night .

The fire happened on West Fairview Ave. just after 9 p.m. and the response was almost instant. Fire crews from several local agencies were on the scene for hours to get the fire under control.

Fire officials told 2 NEWS an unattended cooking fire in one of the units spread throughout the entire building. Within four minutes, Dayton Fire was on the scene.

Trotwood, Butler Township and Kettering crews also responded. Authorities say the damage found after the fire was under control was extensive.

According to the American Red Cross, 30 units were affected and of those, 27 were occupied. Nearly 30 people said they had nowhere to go after being evacuated from the building due to the electricity being turned off.

Assistant Fire Chief Brad French is taking this opportunity to remind people of what to do if a grease fire happens while cooking.

“That’s kind of counterintuitive because a lot of times you would think, ‘Oh, fire, let’s put some water on it.’ And that’s really not the thing to do. You want to shut the heat off and immediately stop that heating process for the grease and then cover it with something or utilize a fire extinguisher,” said French.

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