Cops, courts and fires
Elwood residents escape house fire
Off-duty officer alerts neighbors
ELWOOD, Ind. — An off-duty officer helped three people escape an Elwood house fire on Friday.
Amy Taylor, 35, of Elwood, was returning to her home around 8:30 p.m. when she observed the fire at the house, located in the 1200 block of Elks Lane.
“I said ‘That’s awful big for a trash fire,’” said Taylor, a corrections officer for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department. “I backed up and looked again and the whole back of the house was on fire.”
Taylor called 911, then began knocking on the door. Three people were inside, oblivious to the blaze. She said one man, recovering from surgery, was asleep, as was his mother, and the man’s stepfather was practically immobile.
Taylor said she helped the son to her car, where he could stay warm. When the Elwood Police Department arrived, the mother and stepfather were seated in a squad car. After firefighters arrived, Taylor went home — about a half-block away — to treat an asthma attack.
“It all just happened for a reason,” Taylor said. “I’m glad I was there. They would have died in that fire, they were all sound asleep.”
Elwood firefighter Mark Sullivan said the family cared for a group of stray cats, setting out a heating lamp and blanket on the back porch. He said the fire likely was ignited when the lamp was knocked over by a cat. The blaze moved into the soffit and spread to the attic, isolated from the rest of the house.
“When we arrived on the scene, there were flames shooting from the roof on the back half,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan estimated the damage at $20,000 to $30,000 and said the fire had rendered the home unlivable.
Contact The Herald Bulletin at 640-4800 or newsroom@heraldbulletin.com
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