DAYTON — Fire officials suspect a deadly house fire in Dayton early Saturday morning was the result of arson, according to a sign posted in front of the house.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, the fire happened in the 400 block of Grove Avenue around 1:43 a.m.
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Dayton Fire Department Assistant Chief Brad French said firefighters arrived on scene within five minutes and found heavy fire conditions on both floors of the house.
As previously reported by News Center 7, firefighters immediately began controlling the fire with several hose lines and tried to stop the flames from spreading to nearby homes.
“You could feel it on your skin, and if you look on my front porch, I’ve got bubbled paint and a melted mailbox, and anything that was plastic over there was melted,” Amanda Sandlin said.
Sandlin has lived on Grove Avenue with her family for 18 years.
She said she has never seen anything like this so close to home.
Sandlin’s stepson woke up the family around 2 a.m. on Saturday.
“Within a minute, we were all out of our house. As we were walking out of the house, the porch was on fire and the actual property itself was starting to actually go up in flames too,” Sandlin said. “It was probably the hottest thing we’ve ever felt.”
The flames spread to the side of her home and her husband’s car.
“The heat must have just melted all of the plastic on the passenger side of the car,” she said.
As previously reported by News Center 7, firefighters found a male dead inside the house while searching. The male’s identity has not been released at this time.
Another person was able to get out of the house before firefighters arrived and was taken to an area hospital.
Dayton Police Department homicide detectives and the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office responded to the scene.
“I think that they’re making an effort, which in old North Dayton, sometimes you don’t feel like they do make that effort,” Sandlin said.
Anyone with information about this fire is encouraged to contact DFD Fire Investigators at 937-333-TIPS or Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-STOP.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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