Middletown fire remains under investigation

Middletown police and firefighters are continuing their investigation of a house fire Monday afternoon in the 600 block of Fourteenth Avenue.

Middletown Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Spaulding said the residents called 911 to repor a basement fire. Several neighbors also called 911 about smoke coming out of the house.

Spaulding said no one was in the house when the fire started and there were no injuries reported in fighting the blaze.

The cause was still being investigated, he said, noting he did not have a dollar estimate for damage to the contents or the structure.

The city's arson K-9 was used to help detect what started the fire. Police crime scene investigators were also on scene.

Michael Davis and Asiah Slone had just moved into the house about two weeks ago and had been gone for about an hour.

"When we came back, the house was on fire," Davis said. "We don't have nothing. We lost everything, clothes, furniture. Everything got burned up in the fire."

Davis said he went inside the burning house to try to retrieve some clothing, but it was too smoky.

He said the stove was turned up on high and there were flames coming from the basement.

Davis said earlier in the day, police and medics responded to that address for a reported fatal overdose about three to four hours before the fire started.

Slone said she made the call to 911 about the reported overdose as well as the call for the fire.

The Red Cross responded to assist Davis and Slone with temporary shelter and other assistance.

No other information was available from fire or police officials.

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