(Michigan City, IN) - The cause of a fire destroying a two story house in Michigan City was still under investigation.
Christopher Blake, Public Information Officer for the Michigan City Fire Department, described the damage as a “total loss.” The only injury was to a firefighter treated at a hospital and released the same evening, he said.
On April 6, firefighters just before 6 p.m. responded to the 200 block of West 9th Street on the city’s north side. Ashley Hanner said she was driving back home on U.S. 12 when she first encountered smoke which became heavier the closer she became to the burning structure. Traffic lights in the area looked as if they were in a dense fog because of the density of the smoke.
Hanner said she drove past the burning structure and spotted firefighters on the roof trying to get water on the fire. “The flames were pretty high,” she said. Eventually, she said the firefighters climbed down and a ladder from a truck was stretched above the house to douse the flames with water. “The flames just became too much and they had to get off the roof,” Hanner said.
Blake would not shed light on any clues that might have been uncovered by investigators looking into the cause of the fire. “It was just very sad,” Hanner said.
