Nasty fire in town

http://www.michigancityin.com/articl...14/news/n1.txt (you need an account to read it)

Fire kills 4 in crowded house
By Jason Miller, The News-Dispatch

Neighbors: Others in home fled in vehicle

Four people died and as many as eight could be missing after an early Sunday morning fire gutted a Buffalo Street home neighbors say housed several Chinese and Hispanic employees of a local Chinese restaurant.

Indiana State Fire Marshal Roger Johnson said early Sunday afternoon the fire began on a back porch at the home, 2021 Buffalo St., which is at Buffalo and Russell streets. The fire department received a call about the fire at 3:38 a.m.

Johnson said the fire spread quickly through the house, the interior of which was modified to include between 12 and 15 make-shift sleeping quarters.

Closets were being used as sleeping quarters, and several areas were separated into smaller rooms by large pieces of plywood, Johnson said.

Neighbors said occupants also slept on mattresses on the kitchen floor.


“The number of people living inside this house is not what you would equate with a house like this,” Johnson said of the two-story, wood-frame home. “It raises flags, for sure.”

Neighbors said up to 15 people likely lived in the house, which had been reported to city officials for its poor living conditions and number of occupants.

Johnson confirmed accounts that several of the people living in the home were employed at the Chinese-buffet restaurant Fortune House, 312 W. U.S. 20 in Dunes Plaza.

Johnson believes the home was owned by the owner of the restaurant, which was closed Sunday. A handwritten sign stating “we are closed” hung in its front door.

According to Johnson, officials had spoken to the owner Sunday.

“We've found four bodies right now, and the search is ongoing. We've had mixed reports on additional victims, so we're still looking,” Johnson said.

Initially, firefighters were told six people were dead in the house, but as of 4 p.m. Sunday, firefighters felt the four that were found were the only fatalities.

Chief Deputy LaPorte County Coroner John Sullivan said the four died of smoke inhalation and likely were between the ages of 15 and 30. A forensic pathologist from South Bend is scheduled to be in Michigan City this morning to perform autopsies on the four bodies.

The fire created a great deal of debris and the collapse of part of the second floor, leading investigators to believe additional bodies may have been buried under the rubble.

According to an emergency responder at the scene, a thermal-imaging camera allegedly read heat from what the operator thought were two more bodies hidden under debris, shortly after the fire was doused around 5:20 a.m.

However, Daryl Westphal, Michigan City Fire Department battalion chief, said the thermal-imaging equipment likely won't be called back to the scene because temperatures throughout the house had been equalized.

“We're fairly confident we've found all the victims,” Johnson said.

Investigators from the Michigan City Police Department and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms canvassed the area around the house, talking to neighbors to find information on the occupants.

They'll also try to find the remaining occupants of the home, who some neighbors said they saw flee the house in a minivan, just as the fire was starting to take hold.

“We'll do a cursory look and get an idea what they want in case it goes criminal,” Michigan City Police Chief Ben Neitzel said. “They're still putting the pieces together. I can't comment on any particulars yet.”

Johnson was less cautious.

“We can't get a firm grasp on how many people were in the house,” he said. “We heard some people fled. I suppose they got out because they didn't want to be connected to the fire.”

Michigan City fire officials will hold a press conference today.

I feel so bad for those people, my family was worried sick when we found out about the fire because my uncle and cousins live on that street. Anyways we got some kittens that were in the fire, a male and female. Just about the sweetest babies you ever met.

I noticed that article on Yahoo, U.S. News this morning.

I didn't lick onto it because the picture of that house was so horrific.

What have you heard, (as to cause of the fire,), from Your Uncle ?

Yes, I have to agree, that story was gut wrenching--sooo, heart breaking, to read.They were trying to survive, and by doing so, the way they did, perished!!!

Your rescued Kittens provided hope---you'll have to post a picture of them later.

They had a fire like this in New York City last year, where there were a bunch of immigrants in illegally partitioned apartments with no exits. It's such a shame.