WEST CHESTER, Ohio  — A fire broke out overnight at an apartment complex in West Chester.

The fire started around 1 a.m. Sunday at the Highlands of West Chester on Fountains Boulevard. When firefighters with West Chester Fire Department responded, the assistant fire chief said the fire was located on the second floor and flames were extending into the roof.

Initially, there were reports a man was trapped inside the building. Fire crews went to rescue him, but firefighters said the man walked out on his own. He refused medical attention.

More crews from other fire departments were called in to help battle the blaze.

At least two units were damaged in the fire, but it is currently unclear how many people are displaced.

"I don't have an estimate on damage. There are 8 units in the building that is involved at least two units are involved in actually fire damage," West Chester Assistant Fire Chief David Pickering said.

Pickering said crews are assessing the other units to make sure they are safe before residents can return home.

No firefighters were injured.

The Butler County Fire Investigation is still working to figure out how the fire started.

This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.

WEST CHESTER — One man is dead after officials said he was hit by a train in West Chester Saturday.

State Route 747 was shut down as police responded to the report of a pedestrian hit on the railroad tracks around 1:30 Saturday. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials reopened the road once the scene was cleared. The victim has not been identified.

HAMILTON, Ohio —

The West Chester man accused of murdering four family members will not stand trial in May, as planned.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused the capital murder trial to get pushed back to October.

Gurpreet Singh is accused of murdering his wife, Shalinderjit Kaur, and her parents, Hakiakat Singh Pannag and Parmjit Kaur. Shalinderjit Kaur's aunt, Amarjit Kaur, was also killed inside a West Chester apartment in April 2019.

The trial would require selecting 12 jurors and a handful of alternates.

"I just don't see us being able to get 16 people to sit with us for three weeks, away from their families, sitting next to strangers," said Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Howard. "Further complicated by the fact, if we are able to do that, what happens if in the middle of trial, a juror says, 'I'm not feeling well. I've lost my sense of taste and smell,' and we have to quarantine everybody."

Howard said in other cases, jurors have expressed concerns with coming into a courtroom during a pandemic, even with safety protocols in place.

Since the rollout of the vaccines isn't going as quickly as people hoped, he said it might be better to move the trial date.

Neither prosecutors and defense attorneys objected to postponing Singh's trial.

"We echo the same concerns where if we have a juror or a family member of a juror or one of the litigants get sick or contract COVID, what would happen to the trial?" said assistant prosecutor Josh Muennich.

Defense attorney Neal Schuett said, "We too don't want some mistrial or to get halfway through and have to take a break and all quarantine."

Singh maintains his innocence. He is now scheduled to stand trial on four counts of aggravated murder on Oct. 18.

This is the second time the trial was delayed because of the pandemic.

It was originally scheduled for last September.

Family members of the victims previously told WLWT, they didn't like the delays but have confidence in the American justice system.

Lakota students returned to school Tuesday. Despite having to wear masks, many kids said they were happy to be back in class with friends."I'm feeling excited but a little nervous because I've been in VLO for over a year," said Bryce Jones, a Lakota East student. Jones has asthma, so last year, virtual learning was a better option for him. Now, he's vaccinated which sets his father, Careem Jones' mind at ease."It's been tough being home, so we felt its time to integrate with students," Careem Jones said. Adam Douglas isn't just new to Lakota East, he's also new to the country. He just moved here from Jordan a few weeks ago."Feeling good, something new in my life," Douglas said. What's not new is Lakota's mandatory mask policy."When they said we were going to have masks mandatory, I'm like, 'Well, we did it last year and you get used to it, so you can do it again,'" said Lakota East student Kaitlin Dwomoh. Lakota superintendent Matt Miller told WLWT on Tuesday if COVID cases stay low during the next few weeks, the mask mandate could be reversed, but students aren't banking on it just yet."I feel like we're going to have masks for a while because COVID is just going to keep ramping up. This is not going to be our last variant, and I kind of want people to get used to being close but still far away enough that we don't have to worry," Dwomoh said.

WEST CHESTER, Ohio — West Chester firefighters and paramedics spent the night of July 13 at a house fire that claimed three lives. Exactly a week earlier, on July 6, they’d been at the scene of a murder-suicide on Revere Run.

“It’s just stacked up,” said Chief Rick Prinz on Friday night. "It’s more deadly incidents grouped more closely together than is usual for their small community, which hadn’t experienced a deadly fire for 10 years until 2021. “And it’s kind of taking a toll.”

All of the first responders in his department will have the option to receive group counseling for extra mental health support during the coming week.

Prinz said he wants to ensure his staff is OK after dealing with the unusual number of deadly emergencies, which have also included car crashes and suicides.

“That takes a toll on our responders,” he said. “When we’re on the scene, not only do we witness those horrific scenes, but we’re also witnessing and empathizing with the families who are grieving. As chief, I felt like we need to do something to get ahead of the curve should something not really be right.”

Firefighter-paramedic Jason Jeffers said members of his crew lean on each other for support after responding to traumatic events.

“For me, I have a really good support system with my crew, the guys that I work with directly,” he said. “And we all really take care of each other.”

The first of the scheduled counseling sessions will take place Monday.

CINCINNATI —

As COVID-19 restrictions get lifted, more communities are making plans to make summer more fun.

Outdoor events are slowly returning including many concerts.

"We're ready. We're excited. We think it's time," said Jim Miller, lead singer of Dangerous Jim and the Slims.

Miller said he already booked concerts in Greenhills, Lawrenceburg and Hamilton.

"Rockin' the Roebling, we'll be doing that," Miller said. "I'm sure that people will be booking as much outside stuff as possible."

Party on the purple returns on Wednesdays starting next week.

In West Chester, Takeover at the Square and Keehner Park concerts will be returning late June.

Music in Mason will also be bringing back tunes to the Mason plaza.

"That was actually a very big generator of business for us. So, to see those things being brought back in a safe manner, I think is going to be great for us," said Matt Imm, owner of Quatman Cafe' in Mason.

The city of Hamilton has a jam-packed schedule of outdoor events starting this Saturday with a Main Street spring shop hop. Alive After 5, concerts at RiversEdge and many other activities are also on the calendar.

After taking a year off, one of the largest food truck rallies in the region is headed back to West Chester.

"We have about 40 food trucks and other vendors that will be here ready to get our grub on," said Kerry Hendel, vice president of the Union Centre Boulevard Merchant Association. "We also bring in people from northern Kentucky, from over in Indiana as well. So, people who have seen our township before get to experience it for the first time."

Depending on where the event is, who is hosting it and the number of people attending, some restrictions could be in place.

Since state and federal guidelines can change day by day, so can the guidelines for different events.