May 07--NEW PARIS -- Hours after losing Tuesday's primary race for Elkhart County auditor, Jim Erb lost his home to a fire.
New Paris and Benton Township firefighters were called to Erb's home at 18981 First St. at 2:40 a.m. Wednesday, May 7.
Crews had the fire under control by 4 a.m.
Erb said he, his wife Cheryl and his stepson, Derek, were sleeping when the fire detectors went off. He said he believes the fire was intentionally set.
The fire started out on the back side of the house, according to New Paris Fire Chief Joe Warstler.
Mike Vogely, an investigator from the Indiana State Fire Marshall's office, said he has not determined the cause and the fire is still under investigation.
Erb said he didn't know why someone would try to burn his house down. He said he thought the fire was started by lighting one of the wooden flower boxes along the back of the house on fire.
Erb said another possibility is that faulty wiring caused the blaze, but added that that explanation didn't make sense to him.
Reporter Sharon Hernandez contributed to this report.
Copyright 2014 - The Elkhart Truth, Ind.
