News Summary

Springfield, Ohio — One woman is confirmed dead after a fire at 1805 S. Sweetbriar Lane early Friday, May 9, according to a Springfield Fire Division official.

The cause of death has not been established and there is a "potential" for more fatalities, said Kevin Sprinkle, battalion chief, Springfield Fire Division.

He declined to comment further.

Neighbors said a young woman was living in the home with two children, but it's unclear whether the children were in the house when it caught fire.

The fire was reported at 12:36 a.m. Friday.

"I heard some crackles and saw flames," said Lisa Hampton, a neighbor. "I grabbed my cell phone and I was just screaming at 911."

Hampton said she was worried that the children were trapped inside, and as she opened the front door "rolls of smoke" poured out.

"My heart just sunk," she said. "There was no way in the world anyone could've been alive in there."

When crews arrived, "heavy fire" consumed one side of the house and nearly making contact with the neighboring home, according to a fire division report.

Firefighters arrived on the scene quickly, and Sprinkle said it was "unusual" for a blaze to have grown so large in that amount of time.

Crime scene investigators from the Springfield Police Division were on the scene Friday morning.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0360 or vlough@coxohio.com

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