Warren County man airlifted to hospital with life-threatening burns from apartment fire

FRANKLIN, Ohio (WXIX) - A Warren County man suffered life-threatening burns in an overnight apartment fire and was airlifted to a Dayton hospital, according to a Franklin fire official.

Flames broke out in the 400 block of Forest Avenue in Franklin around 1 a.m. Friday.

Franklin police were first on the scene, said Franklin Fire Lt. Mike Posega.

"They were able to open the apartment door but the smoke inside was too much, they were unable to get inside," Lt. Posega said.

Franklin firefighters arrived and got into the apartment.

"As crews were trying to find the fire, they found the victim inside. He was unconscious," Lt. Posega said.

"They removed him from the apartment. As soon as they got him out they gave him to the ambulance and they took him to Atrium (Medical Center in Middletown) where he was stabilized and then flown to Miami Valley (Hospital) in Dayton."

The small kitchen fire was extinguished. No other units were damaged, Lt. Posega said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

It is not considered suspicious, Lt. Posega confirmed.

Beyond that, he says they are still in the early stages of working to determine what happened and plan to return to the scene later Friday.

A damage estimate was not immediately available.

Residents in the building's eight other apartments were evacuated for about two hours but are now back inside, he said.