Two Killed, Two Escape Indiana House Fire
Source Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
A woman in red pajamas hugged her daughter who was wrapped in a blanket.
Sitting in an ambulance at Robinwood Drive and Baxter Street, the two got out of the ambulance when a pickup pulled up.
Barefoot, the two stood on the icy road and embraced the man who walked toward them. Within minutes, all three got in the truck and drove off.
The sun still hadn't come up in the 4100 block of Robinwood and the temperature was still below freezing Tuesday morning.
The mother and daughter were the survivors of an early-morning fire on the city's southeast side that killed a young man and woman who were engaged to be married.
Firefighters responded to 4114 Robinwood Drive at 3:41 a.m. to heavy smoke and flames coming from the single-story home, the Fort Wayne Fire Department said.
A woman living in the home awoke to the smell of smoke and was able to get herself and her daughter out of the home and then call 911, the fire department said.
The woman's son, Carson W. Tubbs, 20, and his fiance, Jonette N. Chacon, 19, were still inside the home when firefighters arrived and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The Allen County Coroner's Office said both died at 3:52 a.m. from asphyxia due to smoke inhalation.
Their deaths were ruled accidental, according to a statement.
"She was screaming," neighbor Armando Escamilla said of the woman who was outside the home when firefighters arrived. "We just heard the noise and came out, but it was too late."
Firefighters were told the blaze started near the wall behind the Christmas tree in the living room area of the one-story home, but the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
A large window in the middle of the front of the home was burned out, along with much of the north-facing side of the home.
Heat from the blaze melted the siding and insulation on the home next door.
It took firefighters about a half-hour to bring the fire under control.
Fire department spokeswoman Stacey Fleming said the fire did not appear suspicious in nature.
There was heavy fire, water and smoke damage to the home, the fire department said.
Investigators do not believe there was a working smoke detector in the home at the time of the fire.
"It's probably the most important thing you can do in a home," Fire Chief Pete Kelly said. "There's no reason not to have one."
A firefighter sustained a minor injury at the scene and was taken to a hospital for observation and was released, Fleming said.
The family had lived in the two-bedroom home in the Waynewood Heights neighborhood for about two years, neighbors said.
The home was valued at $47,500, according to Allen County tax records.
Fred Sheets owns the home and was helping board it up late Tuesday morning.
He declined comment on the fire or who was living in the home.
The fire department did not release the identities of the two survivors, who were not injured in the blaze.
Homes are close to one another, and the neighborhood was quiet during the hours after the blaze was extinguished.
A woman who lives across the street from the home and did not give her name said she was asleep when the fire started but woke up after it was already out.
She said all the neighbors are a close-knit bunch.
In October, two people escaped a nearby house fire when they heard the smoke detectors going off.
On Tuesday morning, the woman said she installed new smoke detectors after the October fire.
