By David Eck
Enquirer contributor

A firefighter searches for hot spots on the second floor of a two-family home during Thursday's fire on West Galbraith Road. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

NORTH COLLEGE HILL - Pounding on the doors of a burning house early Thursday, Trent Stanton prayed nobody was inside.

"The fire was on the second floor," said the 43-year-old cabdriver, who spotted the blaze and called 911. "The flames and the smoke up there were extremely thick. I hoped that no one was there."

Several hours later, Stanton learned that firefighters found the body of a woman in the second-floor kitchen of the two-family home on Drier Drive.

The name of the woman, who fire officials believe was in her 60s, was not released Thursday. She was the only person in the house at the time of the fire, said North College Hill Fire Chief Robert Lotz.

Stanton was driving his cab about 6:20 a.m. at Galbraith Road and Clovernook Avenue when he saw the flames.

Stanton kicked the doors, banged on the house and repeatedly blew the horn of a car parked in the driveway while he waited for firefighters to arrive.

"I did all I could do," Stanton said. "There really wasn't any way for me to get in there.''

It took firefighters about 90 minutes to bring the fire under control, Lotz said. Crews from five departments responded.

"We went and did an aggressive attack on the fire on the second floor, at which time we found the victim," Lotz said. "It was a pretty stubborn fire."

The Hamilton County Special Arson Team is investigating the cause of the blaze, which is not considered suspicious. No damage estimate has been determined, Lotz said. The home had a working smoke detector, officials said.

The house is owned by Greg Wenz, an operations director for the Hamilton County Communications Center who is well-known by fire officials. Wenz and his family, who live on the first floor, are vacationing.

"This one was a little bit different for us because we happen to know the folks that live here," Lotz said.

E-mail daveck@fuse.net