CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A structure fire in the 800 block of Hartwood Road late Friday night left one person dead, the Huntington Township Fire Department said.
The Ross County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting the fire shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, prompting an immediate dispatch of Huntington Township Fire Department crews, according to a statement the department posted to Facebook. Callers reported possible entrapment inside the structure, and air medical transport was placed on standby as crews responded.
When the first engine arrived, firefighters found heavy fire conditions throughout the structure and quickly shifted from an interior attack to a defensive operation, directing water onto the fire from outside the building. A civilian inside the home died in the fire, the department said.
About 20 firefighters from multiple departments and agencies responded to assist Huntington Township crews, the department said. Mutual aid came from the Scioto Township, Bainbridge and Twin Township fire departments, along with an engine from the Chillicothe VA Medical Center Fire Department, whose firefighters are represented by Federal Firefighters of Ross County Local 1631.
“Mutual aid like this is exactly why we make mutual aid contracts and why the importance of mutual aid is detrimental to the overall operation of the incident,” the fire department said in its statement, thanking the responding agencies for their quick response.
The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire, the department said. The identity of the person killed had not been released as of Saturday.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Huntington Township Fire Department.
