FAIRBORN — The Fairborn Fire Department, with the assistance of mutual aid, extinguished a fire Feb. 26 that took place within a multi-family building on the 2100 block of Chapel Drive.
Neither the home residents nor members of the fire crews were injured.
Fairborn Battalion Chief Patrick Ricketts said crews were dispatched at approximately 11:30 a.m. and observed flames shooting out from the chimney of the home. The ladder was called into action and the fire was out within 30 to 40 minutes of arrival. Ricketts highlighted that the majority of the damage caused by the fire took place along the outside of the home, and the neighboring unit was not damaged.
He said it is unknown if the residents were home at the time of the fire, but they were on scene as the fire was being extinguished. According to the battalion chief, the home residents will still be displaced for a period of time.
Fire crews removed insulation from the top of the home, as Ricketts said insulation has a tendency to smolder.
He explained that the cause of the fire is unknown and under investigation. However, due to the nature of the flames being observable from the chimney, the residents told fire crews that they had multiple fires in their fireplace over the winter season.
Ricketts highlighted that individuals who utilize a fireplace should never leave a fire unattended as embers and ashes are able to spark. He added that ashes from a fireplace should always be disposed of within a metal container away from the home.
The Huber Heights, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Beavercreek Township fire departments worked alongside the Fairborn Fire Department to extinguish the flames.