Long-time Belmont Ave. NE resident Debra McMurray, next door neighbor to fire victim Dale Kennedy of Belmont Ave. NE, talks about being awaken ed Thursday morning by Warren safety employees as her neightbor's house is on fire...McMurray said Dale Kennedy is "the best neightbor....by R. Michael Semple

WARREN — A city man escaped an early Thursday morning fire that destroyed his Belmont Avenue home and killed his three dogs.

Warren emergency responders were called out after 4:45 a.m. to the two-story wood-framed home at 528 Belmont Ave. NE, which fire officials said was fully engulfed in flames from the roof and sides of the home when they arrived.

Warren firefighter Darshun Williams said no injuries were reported.

He said one man lived at the home and was able to get out by jumping out an upper-level window, near the roof, onto the front-porch roof.

The man was taken by ambulance to the St Joseph Warren Hospital.

Williams said the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office has been contacted to investigate.

He said the fire was mostly at the back and right side of the house, as well as the attic area.

Fire Chief Ken Nussle said the man was released from the hospital with burns to one of his hands.

He said most of the flooring on the second floor was incinerated, with the house a total loss with damage estimated at $60,000.

Nussle said firefighters were on scene for more than three hours.

Yellow security tape was placed around the property. Windows on both floors of the house and the roof area were broken out.

Debra McMurray, who lives next door, said she knows the man who lives there.

She identified him as Dale Kennedy and said he was taken to the hospital to see if he was OK.

McMurray said she was awakened at 4:45 a.m. by police and fire to let her know about the fire next door.

“The flames were shooting through the windows and roof of the house like crazy,” McMurray said. “I watch ‘Chicago Fire’ on TV, but you really don’t realize what damage a fire can do until something like this happens right next door to me. What happened to Dale is terrible.”

She said the firefighters turned their hoses on one side of her home next to Kennedy’s house to protect it from catching fire.

McMurray said the inside of her home smells like smoke.

She said she learned Kennedy tried to get back into the house to get the dogs out.

“I was told his three dogs died. They are rescue dogs. They were like his kids,” McMurray said.

She said when she went outside Thursday morning she could see the house was badly burned at the rear, in the attic and on the right side.

McMurray said she believes Kennedy is in his early 70s.

“He is a great neighbor,” she said.

She said she did have a fence damaged in the fire but noted the firefighters did a great job of extinguishing the fire preventing further damage.

Larry Dermer, who lives on nearby Olive Street, said he had a bad night after his cat died Wednesday and then a neighbor suffered a loss of three pets.

He said at first he did not see the fire and police presence, but later woke to see what had happened.

“I went over to see if I could help and to see if Dale was OK,” Dermer said. “My God I could not believe what had happened to the house. People told me Dale was screaming for help to get his dogs out of the house. He kept calling for the dogs to come out but they must have been too afraid.”

He said he knows Kennedy has a fireplace in his home.

Dermer said he asked firefighters if they could get the dogs out of the house for a proper burial but firefighters advised they did not want anyone to see them following the fire.

He said he will speak with other neighbors about helping Kennedy with some kind of benefit.

“My prayers are with Dale. I hope he is OK. We need to do something to help him,” Dermer said.

Correspondent Chris McBride contributed to this story.