On Thanksgiving morning, November 23, 2023, a devastating fire in a mobile home community in Athens County, Ohio, resulted in the loss of five lives, including two children.
The fire was reported around 7:30 a.m. at a location on Rainbow Lake Road, just south of Athens. Two mobile homes were found engulfed in flames, with one having its roof collapsed.
Richland Area Volunteer Firefighters discovered the bodies of five victims after extinguishing the fire. The identities of the deceased and the cause of the fire remain under investigation by the Ohio Department of Commerce, the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Athens County Sheriff’s Office, and the county coroner. One person managed to escape the fire with injuries and received hospital treatment.
Ohio has witnessed several devastating fires in the past couple of months. On October 29, 2023, a fire in Mt. Gilead, Ohio, claimed two lives.
Chillicothe, Ohio, also experienced a house fire near Sherman Park at the end of October. Eyewitnesses reported that everyone made it out safely, and no injuries were reported.
A house in Dayton, Ohio, was destroyed in an early morning fire, on October 12, with Dayton firefighters responding to the scene. The house was deemed a total loss, and emergency demolition was ordered.
A house off of Ohio 7 in Dunham Township was destroyed by fire over Thanksgiving weekend. The occupant of the structure suffered minor burns and was treated at the scene.