One person is dead after a fire broke out in the basement of a home in the 2600 block of Franklin Avenue in central Toledo on Thursday night. Crews reached the scene within two minutes of the call and had the flames out shortly after arriving, but the blaze still claimed a life inside the residence.
According to 13abc.com, the call came in about a fire in the basement at 10:42 p.m. Thursday. The station reports that multiple people live in the home on the 2600 block of Franklin Avenue. Firefighters found an adult male occupant inside the duplex during a primary search.
WTOL 11 crews on scene saw heavy smoke billowing from the duplex, and Toledo firefighters used ladder trucks as part of their response, according to WTOL 11. The outlet reported that the smoke diminished roughly 30 minutes after crews arrived, and that the fire occurred near Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center, not far from Cherry Street.
Scene Secured as Investigation Opens
Crews put up yellow tape to block off the home while Toledo police remained at the scene, per the same WTOL 11 report. Toledo Fire and Rescue said firefighters extinguished the fire quickly once they arrived, but officials have not released the identity of the person who died.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, the station's report notes. WTOL reported Friday that the person who died was an adult male.
Part of a Heavy Call Volume for Toledo Crews
The Franklin Avenue fire adds to a string of recent residential blazes in the Toledo area. Earlier this year, a residential fire on Nebraska Avenue left two people dead, with firefighters locating one victim, an 8-year-old boy, during search operations, according to the City of Toledo. A separate incident on Dorr Street, reported by wtol.com, prompted a fire-investigator response after smoke was spotted coming from the second floor of a vacant duplex.
Toledo Fire & Rescue handles more than 60,000 emergency calls each year, covering everything from structure fires to hazardous materials incidents and technical rescues, the city's fire department says. The volume underscores how often Toledo crews are called into fast-developing situations like Thursday night's fire, where speed of response can make the difference between containment and tragedy.
No further updates have been released on the Franklin Avenue fire as the investigation continues.
