Coroner IDs woman killed in Dayton house fire; First deadly fire for Dayton this year
A woman is dead after a house fire in Dayton Sunday night and the first person to die in a fire this year in the city.
>>PHOTOS: Woman dead in first deadly fire for Dayton this year
Dayton Fire and medics were called to the 300 block of Ashwood Avenue at around 8:30 p.m. on reports of a house fire and a person possibly still inside, according to a Dayton Fire Department spokesperson.
The family is mourning her loss on a day she would have celebrated her 72nd birthday.
News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott said Monday there was debris in the front yard and family members were taking items out of the house. They were standing on a ramp because the woman was disabled.
Soot now covers the windows and a ramp leading up to the home.
There were discarded dressers in the yard and a walker also laid burned.
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A nearby neighbor called 911 and alerted them to the fire on Ashwood Avenue Sunday night.
“I don’t know what is going on,” the caller told dispatchers in a 911 call obtained by News Center 7. “But she told me to call the police.”
She was speaking with the victim, Darlene Alston, then hung up and called for help.
“We were talking on the phone when she just said, ‘call the police,’ she told dispatchers. “’Hurry, hurry, hurry.’”
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McDermott reports firefighters were on scene within minutes. Alston was the only person in the home and taken out quickly, according to Dayton Fire Captain Brad French.
“We had crews arrive within about four minutes from the time of dispatch,” he said. “However, it was then determined that the victim had suffered fatal injuries.”
McDermott says she is the first person to die in a fire this year in the City of Dayton.
Four people have died in fires the last couple of years.
“Couple in January, then one later in the year,” said French. He told McDermott one other person died in 2021.
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The 911 caller told dispatchers Sunday night Alston was disabled.
“She can’t get up,” she told them.
“Did she fall or something?” Dispatchers asked.
“No, she’s bedridden,” the 911 caller replied.
The grandson said Monday Alston, his grandmother, could not walk and was in a wheelchair.
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Captain French said cases like this are an example for why everyone should have an exit strategy.
“Anyone with disabilities would certainly want to have a plan in place,” he told McDermott. “Whether that be a plan set up with neighbors, and certainly making sure that 911 is contacted as quickly as possible.”
The grandson also told McDermott his grandmother was an amazing woman and does not know how the fire started or how she died.
It remains under investigation.
