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The cause of an Oxford house fire is yet to be determined, as tenants await a fire inspection by the insurance company.
The fire was reported at around 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon at 115 Homestead Ave.
One of the residents, Liz Wicks, said she and her roommate Joey Poffinbarger were returning home and noticed something smelled bad. Then they saw smoke coming out of the top of the house, and ran inside to find a scorched ceiling.
Wicks and Poffinbarger woke up their roommate Josh Kleiman, who tried to use the house's fire extinguisher to put the fire out in the attic.
After a failed attempt at putting the fire out themselves, the residents alerted the Oxford Fire Department of the incident.
Within seven minutes, the fire department responded and attempted to put out the blaze, according to Oxford Fire Chief Len Endress. At around 4:20 p.m., the site was cleared.
Landlord Bob Blackburn said that both the Oxford Fire Department and the College Corner Fire Department responded, and he commended the job of both crews.
"The greatest thing about this is that no one was hurt," Blackburn said.
Wicks said she was glad she and Poffinbarger returned to the property when they did, as she said Kleiman has a tendency to sleep soundly. She also said there weren't batteries in the fire alarms.
Wicks said she was told by a firefighter that it was a good thing they arrived when they did, as the ceiling may have fallen in just another half hour because of the blaze.
Kasey Princell, an Oxford firefighter who was on the scene, said the fire was primarily in the ceiling above the entire living room and parts of the ceiling above the kitchen. He said the firefighters pulled the ceiling down to fight the fire.
Princell said the cause of the fire is still unknown and there are several differing opinions on the issue.
Princell said he thought the fire seemed really close to where the wiring for the doorbell is. He also said one of the tenants mentioned that earlier in the day, the doorbell went off without cause and the electric also went off at one point. He said the tenant attributed the issues to nearby maintenance work on electric lines by Duke Energy employees, at the corner of North Campus and Homestead avenues.
Wicks said she thought the fire had something to do with the doorbell as well.
"They (the fire crew) said it had something to do with the doorbell and the wires that connected to it," she said.
However, Blackburn said he did not believe the fire was due to electrical issues.
"If we're doing something wrong, we want to know," Blackburn said.
Blackburn said the house had last been inspected in July 2006 and passed code. According to Blackburn, inspections generally occur every two years unless construction or renovations are done between inspections.
Endress said the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but that it looked as if it started in the insulation in the attic.
A fire inspector will be sent to the property from the insurance company, Beaton Insurance Agency, LLC., but Blackburn said he is unaware of when this will happen. Pictures have also been taken and sent to the insurance company for review.
Blackburn said he had recently painted and installed new carpet and doors.
Blackburn said he appreciated the community support for the tenants. He said Miami University's coordinator of off-campus affairs, Bobbe Burke, offered to try to find temporary housing for the tenants.
Endress said the fire was more serious than other fires the department has responded to recently.
"We've had mainly minor (fires), (like) the portion of a kitchen that catches on fire," Endress said. "The middle of last year (was the last) true structure fire."
The four students, Wicks, Poffinbarger, Kleiman and Joe Burris, are living in other residences for now, Wicks said. Only Wicks is actively enrolled at Miami this semester, she said.
The property is managed by Oxford Real Estate.
