(La Porte County, IN) - Outdoor burning is the apparent cause of a recent house fire in La Porte County. 

 

On July 3rd, firefighters were called to the 2400 block of S. 350 East in Pleasant Township.  According to La Porte County Police, the homeowner, Joe Eichberger, told investigators he was burning the weeds in the cracks of his driveway when a burning ember landed near a bush in front of his residence. 

 

Eichberger said he stomped on the ember to put it out and resumed burning the weeds in the cracks of his driveway, according to police.  He didn’t realize the ember was still burning, though, until he noticed the bush fully engulfed in flames, which began catching the outside of the residence on fire, police said.

 

Police said Eichberger put out the fire on the burning bush with a garden hose but it took the efforts of firefighters to save the home.

 

It appears fire damage was confined to the exterior on one side of the home and the attic, police said.