(La Porte County, IN) - Fire heavily damaged a house in Michiana Shores yesterday.

 

Emergency responders just after 6:30 a.m. were called to 5701 Birchwood Trail. According to La Porte County Police, the owners of the home live in Chicago and use the dwelling as a vacation rental.

 

Police said the house was unoccupied at the time of the fire because the last guests left on Tuesday due to power being out at the residence from the major storm that greatly impacted the area.

 

A maintenance man told investigators everything seemed fine with the house when he walked through it after the guests departed the property.

 

Police said fire damage was confined around a bedroom and bathroom on the lower level of the home.  The damage included a heated concrete floor above the bedroom collapsing.

 

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.