DAYTON, Ohio --
Investigators made an arrest Tuesday morning after a huge overnight fire took a large home on Rockwood Avenue to the ground.
Police and Fire Crews took 22-year-old Braxton Gilkey away from the scene about 3 a.m. Tuesday. He is being held in the Montgomery County Jail, suspected of arson.
Five Oaks House Fire - SLIDESHOW
Firefighters said they received calls about 2 a.m. and arrived at the corner of Neal and Rockwood avenues and found flames billowing from the house. They said the roof and porch had already collapsing at the back of the house.
Supervisors said this is the third time that they have recently been called to the vacant home that was scheduled for demolition. This time, the flames roared through the two-story house.
Conditions inside the house were too dangerous to put firefighters at risk and they could only try to stop the flames from outside.
Residents who live in the neighborhood expressed great frustration as they watched this fire. They said several other homes and garages have burned in the area recently as well.
Bernadette Sacksteder said, "My first thought was, Oh no, not again. We just had a house up the block burn two weeks ago and for two houses that close together to burn, these things don't happen by accident, I've lived here since I was 5 years old, in this neighborhood, we've never had things like this happen before and frankly, it's very frightening."
The fire left almost nothing still standing, except for a couple of half-walls. Firefighters said those walls will still need to be knocked down as a safety precaution.
Residents hope Gilkey's arrest will stop the fires in their neighborhood.
Investigators said they will look at the possibility of his possible involvement in other recent fires in the neighborhood.
DAYTON: Five Oaks Fire Considered Suspicious
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