INDIANAPOLIS --
Firefighters had a difficult time dousing a blaze at a home on the city's north side because of clutter that filled the home, officials said.
The blaze began at about 4:50 a.m. at a home in the 1500 block of Broad Ripple Avenue, Indianapolis fire Capt. Rita Burris said.
The 80-year-old homeowner said he awoke to find the house filled with smoke and that the smoke alarm had sounded.
"When he looked outside, the doghouse was fully involved in fire," Burris said. "The dog escaped unharmed."
The homeowner said he thinks the fire was sparked by a heating pad he had hooked up to warm the floor of the doghouse.
The fire spread to the basement of the home, but firefighters had to cut holes in exterior walls to get to the basement to douse the flames.
"The house was filled with clutter from floor to ceiling, so the firefighters couldn't even make entry into the house, much less find the door to the basement, which was where the majority of the fire was located," Burris said.
Damage to the home was estimated at $50,000.
Copyright 2011 by TheIndyChannel.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
