February 16, 2005
EARLY-MORNING NEIGHBORHOOD FIRE
There's nothing unusual about being woken up at 3:00 a.m. in my neighborhood by the sound of fire engine sirens. At least once a week, between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 4:00.a.m., fire trucks come rumbling down Pennsylvania Street on their way to one false alarm or another. This morning was different. From my bedroom window (ignore the date in the corner of the picture...I replaced the batteries in such a hurry that I forgot to reset the date):
My apologies for the quality of the photo (it's the best I could muster at 3:45 a.m.).
About the fire:
Location: Three-story apartment home at 111 East 9th Street (behind the Cathcart Building, caddy-corner to Urban Element)
Cause: According to Indianapolis Fire Department spokesperson Greg Harris (who I overheard being interviewed by a local news reporter), arching power lines may have ignited the blaze.
Occupants: Four residents (two of which who lived in the building for 10+ years); three cats and a dog. The Red Cross and the People's Burn Foundation were already on the scene assisting residents.
Injuries: One firefighter hospitalized; all three cats are missing; the 16-year-old dog made it out safe.
Additional photos:
Okay...I'm going back to sleep now!
UPDATE (7:59 a.m.): Here's a shot of what the building looks like this morning after the fire was snuffed out (notice the large gaping holes in the roof):
FURTHER UPDATE From the 2/17/05 edition of the Indianapolis Star:
Apartment Fire Leaves 4 Residents Homeless
†
Authorities say drooping utility lines sparked a fire to a three-story Downtown Indianapolis apartment building around 3:20 a.m. Wednesday, leaving at least four people homeless. No one was injured, but the roof was damaged, leaving the apartments uninhabitable. The fire occurred in a structure in the 100 block of East Ninth Street, just south of I-65. Indianapolis firefighters had to close Pennsylvania Street for hours to extinguish the blaze. The fire was ruled accidental.
Posted by Mikal at February 16, 2005 4:28 AM
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ZoÎ: Great question. Your guess would be as good as mine as to who to contact if the cats were found (to be alived). My sense is that the people who lived there wont be allowed back into the building for quite some time, which is to say, I don't know who they are or how they can be found if someone found their cats.
I do know the people who live across the street, in the red house, so maybe they'd be the best ones to take possession of the cats if they were found. Iíll check and repost if I find something out.
