FORT WAYNE – Facing snow and frigid temperatures, firefighters extinguished three separate house fires – one in Kosciusko County and two in Fort Wayne – Thursday night and Friday morning.
The first blaze was reported about 9:15 p.m. Thursday and caused significant damage to a vacant house on the city’s south side.
The Fort Wayne Fire Department responded to 1418 McKinnie Ave., near Reed Street, and found heavy flames coming from the kitchen of the one-story house. It took about 20 minutes to bring the fire under control, the city fire department said.
The next report of a house fire came in shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday in Kosciusko County. Seven fire departments were dispatched to a blaze at an 11,000-square-foot home on Tippecanoe Lake, the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department said.
Fire crews found the attic engulfed in flames. About two hours into the fight, a Leesburg firefighter was burned on his face and was taken to the Kosciusko Community Hospital in Warsaw. The firefighter, who was not identified, was later transferred to the St. Joseph Burn Center in Fort Wayne, where he was in fair condition.
Electric roof and gutter heaters installed in the area of the attic may have accidentally started the fire, the sheriff’s department said.
The home belonged to Jerry Ferguson, a co-founder of Biomet Inc., a medical-device manufacturer in Warsaw. Ferguson and his wife were in Florida at the time of the fire.
The sheriff’s department said the cold and snow hindered firefighters. Snowfall totals in the region ranged from one-half to 3 1/2 inches Thursday, and overnight temperatures fell to the single digits, National Weather Service said.
The third house fire began about 8 a.m. Friday in Fort Wayne at 7509 Imperial Plaza Drive, near Lahmeyer and Stellhorn roads. Fire crews put out flames in a front bedroom of the one-story home and rescued five pets, the city fire department said.
Two people had evacuated the house before firefighters arrived. The fire caused moderate damage in the bedroom and smoke damage throughout the house, the fire department said.
The causes of the three fires are under investigation.
