LEBANON, Ohio -- Three people are dead after a fire engulfed a Lebanon home that had numerous building code violations.
City officials say they were told no one was living in the century old house.
Meanwhile, friends of the victims blame Lebanon for not working harder to prevent the deadly fire.
Lebanon Fire Chief Michael Hannigan says the bodies of three men were found inside the 110-year-old, two-story wood frame home on Walnut Street, near Miller Street.
The third victim was found in a back room or back apartment of the three-family home, after the first two victims were found in the front of the house. Chief Hannigan says it's believed the victims are not members of a single family. Neighbors say the three men lived inside the house.
The fire broke out around 2:30 a.m., bringing in firefighters from Lebanon, Clear Creek, Turtle Creek, and Union townships.
Chief Hannigan says the flames were so intense when his first units arrived, that firefighters had to battle the blaze from the outside of the home, until they were able to bring it under control.
A potential cause for the deadly fire has not been determined. Chief Hannigan says it may be difficult to figure out because so little of the house is left, and what is left is so badly burned. There's no word on whether the house had smoke detectors.
The chief says the old construction used to build the house might have contributed to the intensity of the fire.
Friends of the victims say the conditions inside were deplorable, with no electricity to some apartments and no running water in much of the old house.
The deaths literally drove Ron Collins to tears. He says it was so cold inside the house, that he gave one of the victims sheets and plastic wrapping to sleep in. He says the house had no running water and the victims got electricity by running extension cords from an upstairs apartment.
Neighbors say the men looked to be between 30 and 50-years-old and worked as day laborers, often riding bikes to their jobs.
A check of Warren County land records show the house is owned by former Lebanon Fire Chief Jerry Crisp, who directed the department from 1975 until he retired in 1982.
City officials say another building Crisp owned nearby also recently burned to the ground.
The building where the three men died on Monday was cited several years ago for not having working smoke detectors. Officials have not said whether the building had working smoke detectors prior to Monday's deadly fire.
The bodies of the victims have been taken to the Montgomery County Morgue so autopsies can be performed. The names of the victims have not been released.
The fire remains under investigation.
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