Fairfield apartment building a total loss after fire

March 20--FAIRFIELD -- UPDATE @ 1:55 p.m.:

The early morning fire at the Camelot East Apartments appears to be accidental, said Fairfield Deputy Fire Chief Randy McCreadie.

But fire investigators, as well as an insurance investigator for the apartment building, are continuing their investigation as to the cause and source of the fire, he said.

McCreadie said they are in the process of boarding up the building to keep the weather out and put a safety fence around the building to keep people out of the area.

The initial report indicated the fire started in a third-floor utility closet.

"We're leaning toward that area, but nothing definitive has been determined," McCreadie said.Investigators will continue their work in the morning.

UPDATE @ 9:53 a.m.:

Investigators are now at the scene of an early morning fire trying to figure out where and why a fire destroyed at least one apartment unit.

Crews responded to Camelot East Apartments in the 1400 block of Sherwood Drive after being dispatched at 12:18 a.m. Tuesday after a resident smelled something burning and reportedly found a fire in a utility room.

"We don't have a cause at this time," said Fairfield Deputy Fire Chief Tom Wagner. "Fire investigators are on the scene now digging through the debris, so we don't have a definitive cause at this time of what started it."

Building 1450 appears to be close to a total loss, Wagner said, as the roof is completely off the building.

"The roof is burned away, and there's about a foot of water (in building 1450)," Wagner said. "We immediately had to go a defensive position because it was through the roof when we go there."

As a precaution, officials evacuated building 1452, shut the power off at the building, and removed the ceiling on the third floor to ensure the fire did not spread to that building.

Wagner said the fire was contained to building 1450.

Wagner said the Red Cross had taken care of the displaced residents, but did not know the exact number of residents living in the 24 total units in the two buildings.

Colerain and Forest Park fire departments provided mutual aid.

UPDATE @ 5:50 a.m:

About 35 people were displaced and two dozen apartment units were damaged after a fire occurred at an apartment complex in Fairfield Tuesday morning, according to our partners at WCPO.

Crews responded to Camelot East Apartments in the 1400 block of Sherwood Drive around 12:30 a.m. after a resident smelled something burning and found a fire in the third floor utility room.

A total of 24 units were impacted, 12 as a result of the fire, and the other 12 due to utilities in the complex being shut off, according to the American Red Cross, who assisted the displaced residents.

Fairfield firefighters worked to control the heavy fire for over 2 hours with assistance from Forest Park and Colerain Township Fire Departments.

INITIAL REPORT

Crews responded to the 1400 block of Sherwood Drive on fire reportedly coming from the third floor of an apartment building Tuesday morning, according to Fairfield police.

Initial reports indicate smoke and flames were showing around 12:25 a.m., prompting crews to evacuate the building.

We will continue to update this story as additional details become available.

___

(c)2018 the Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio)

Visit the Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio) at www.journal-news.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.