One man has died and two other people were injured after a fire broke out early Saturday morning, October 24, at an apartment building in Cincinnati’s Westwood neighborhood, according to the Cincinnati Fire Department. Firefighters were called just before 4 a.m. after a 911 caller reported smoke pouring from an air conditioning unit on the top floor of a building along Westwood Northern Boulevard, near Harrison Avenue.
Cincinnati crews arrived within four minutes and immediately began attacking the flames, firefighters said. As crews pushed inside, they learned people could still be trapped, and firefighters pulled three people out of the building.
Two of the victims were checked out at the scene. A third man was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died, firefighters said. Officials have not identified the man who died. No police officers or firefighters were hurt in the fire.
About 40 firefighters responded to help bring the one-alarm fire under control. The size of the response reflects the risks of a fire in an occupied apartment building in the early morning hours, when residents are most likely to be asleep and a working rescue may be needed alongside fire suppression.
Cincinnati police, the city’s Buildings and Inspections department and the American Red Cross also stepped in to help after the fire, according to the report provided by Fox19, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s media partner. Help from the Red Cross typically goes to residents displaced from their homes while a building is inspected and made safe to re-enter.
Westwood Northern Boulevard is one of the main corridors through Westwood, Cincinnati’s largest neighborhood, running past homes, apartments and businesses near Harrison Avenue on the city’s West Side. A top-floor fire in a multi-unit building there put neighboring units at risk as well, which is why firefighters checked the building thoroughly after pulling the three people out and why city building inspectors were called to the scene.
Fire officials have not announced a cause for the fire. Residents in the area should follow any guidance from Cincinnati Fire and city inspectors about re-entering the building, and officials are expected to release more information, including the identity of the man who died, once family has been notified and the investigation moves forward.
