December 17, 2003

Home destroyed by fire was month away from completion

       A half-million dollar home under construction in Hickory Stick subdivision was consumed by fire early Tuesday morning.  This marks the second nearly completed White River Township home destroyed by fire in just three weeks.  The house was a month away from completion, Bargersville Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Pruitt said.  All that appeared unfinished was some work on the home's interior.  At 3 a.m. Tuesday, firefighters from Bargersville and White River Township responded to a call from a neighbor saying the house at 4717 Hickory Wood Row was on fire.  When they arrived just six minutes later, heavy fire was already coming through the roof, Pruitt said.  Firefighters from Greenwood, Franklin, and New Whiteland were called to the scene to help battle the blaze.  "It was a very labor-intensive fire because of the size," Pruitt said.  "With any substantial fire in a home that size, we're outmatched right off the bat.  Our manpower came from five departments."  At one point, all the firefighters were evacuated from the home because of the dangerous amount of fire and a partial roof collapse, Pruitt said.  None of the 25 firefighters were injured.  Greenwood's aerial truck was used to help control the fire from the exterior before firefighters returned inside and put out the fire.  They were able to bring the blaze under control just before 5 a.m.  The home is considered a total loss due to a combination of smoke, fire, and water damage, Pruitt said.  The house was insured.  The cause of the fire was electrical.  Fire investigators believe the fire began in wiring for the air-conditioner system in a breaker box in the garage.  The system had been turned on Monday for testing, Pruitt said.  IN a fire Nov. 25, a $250,000 home just two weeks from completion was destroyed in the Walnut Woods subdivision on Southwind Road.  The cause of that fire is still under investigation.  Click HERE to read the story.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

              
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