Wrong Address Factors in Fatal

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The Fort Wayne Fire Department says time lost during a trip to a mistaken address on an emergency call did not make a difference in the result of the fire: a 8-month pregnant woman and her two young kids died in the fire.

The actual address, 722 East Jefferson, and the one where firefighters responded to, 722 West Jefferson are about 1.4 miles apart. Four minutes of travel time separates the two. Is that time that could've saved four lives, and a home? The fire department says no.

A FWFD report on the call shows a "crew" was on scene two minutes after the emergency call came in. That "crew" was a member of the fire command staff, though and had arrived in his department vehicle, with nothing to fight the fire. Three engines, a fire truck and a rescue unit that were dispatched had gone to 722 W. Jefferson. They showed up minutes later.

As the commander made his way to the dispatched address on W. Jefferson, he came into town from the east on Washington. As he came up on 722 E. Jefferson, he saw the house on fire and alerted other crews to the mistake.

"This caller was in an alley behind the house," explained FWFD Spokesperson Susan Banta. Banta said the caller was in a car and couldn't pin point the address of the house, but thought that it was on W. Jefferson.

Even before the emergency call came in, a resident of the house had tried to get the four other people inside out. She told firefighters she couldn't because of the extreme heat.

Banta said the house was so involved by the time the call was even made, the time that it took to return from the mistaken address wouldn't have made a difference.

Two people escaped the house, and were taken to the hospital. 23-year-old Brandi Bender died in the fire. She was 8-months pregnant. Her two sons, 5-year-old Nicholas Adkins and 4-year-old Peyton Bender, also didn't make it out of the burning home.

FWFD Chief Pete Kelly says the department is investigating the incident. He would like to review the incident to see if there was anything that could have been done differently with the call to make the response more efficient.