Fire Hits Waynedale, Indiana Building
Fire investigators returned to the scene this morning of a powerful blaze in Waynedale that roiled through three businesses Wednesday night and left firefighters battling the blaze for more than three hours.
Nobody was injured, but the entire structure at 6801 Ideal Ave. was destroyed when spectacular flames tore through the building for hours after the fire began about 8:45 p.m. No one was inside the businesses at the time of the fire, Capt. Bob Amber said.
Summit Sweeping is the main occupant of the building. Gerke Plumbing & Heating and Triple S Tire Co. also were listed as tenants of the structure.
A fire alarm sent Engine No. 5 to the building. Firefighters immediately saw flames throughout the structure and requested the incident upgrade to a two-alarm fire. Almost a dozen firetrucks were at the scene before the blaze finally was quieted just after midnight.
Fire crews returned to the scene this morning and found some building remains still smoldering. Investigators, who were at the scene Wednesday night, were expected to look for a cause of the blaze today.
Amber said fire crews had tobattle dipping temperatures and blowing and shifting winds Wednesday night and into this morning. Fire crews were rotated to relieve firefighters.
Also, small water mains in the Waynedale area meant firefighters didnt have as much water pressure coming from their hoses as they are used to. The water department went to the scene to redirect some mains to make more water available. While firefighters worked last night, there was some concern over the report that there were acetylene tanks inside the structure, but Amber said that wasnt a problem. There were smaller explosions due to propane tanks and aerosol cans.
Part of Ideal Avenue was closed during the night while crews battled the blaze. There were no reports of injuries to firefighters.