Arson checker on scene at ex-UTS site

Crews responded about 6 p.m. Monday to the 1400 block of Cornell Drive in Dayton for smoke coming from the structure.

An arson investigator was called to the scene at the old abandoned building on the Omega Baptist Church — Harvard Campus. The congregation is building apartments on property that was once the United Theological Seminary, which now is on Denlinger Road in Trotwood.

Dayton Fire District Chief Adam Landis estimated the damage at $5,000 and said the cause is under investigation.

Senior Pastor Joshua Ward of Omega Baptist Church, which owns the property on which the vacant old building stands, said it is slated to be razed.

He said the building is located near new construction, the Omega Senior Lofts, 81 housing units, scheduled to be completed in May 2020. None of that project was damaged in the fire, he said.