Fire rips through three homes near downtown

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Members of the Fort Wayne Fire Department battled triple-digit temperatures during a three-alarm fire near downtown Thursday evening.

Around 7:30 p.m., 911 dispatchers received several calls of a house fire in the 600 block of Sturgis Street, just south of Jefferson Boulevard, near Broadway.

When fire crews first arrived, they found heavy smoke and flames coming from two houses, 611 and 605.

FWFD spokesperson Stacey Fleming said crews initially attacked the fire from the inside, but unsafe conditions later had them battling the fire from the outside.

The fire from the two homes did spread to a third house, 615 Sturgis.

Fleming said occupants of all three houses were able to get out safely. No injuries were reported by any residents. Fleming also said she believed pets may have been involved.

"The neighbors have been talking that there were pets involved," Fleming said. She didn't know the conditions of any of the animals.

Fleming said the residents in 605 were asleep at the time but were awakened by smoke detectors.

Because of the massive response to the fire, and fear it could spread further, some fire trucks were shifted to other stations to help cover the city adequately.

"We also have called in some of our mutual aid partners, they are on standby," Fleming told NewsChannel 15.

The FWFD has 18 fire stations strategically placed around the city.

Fleming said 60 firefighters responded to the fire and because of the extreme weather conditions, crews not initially dispatched to the scene were eventually rotated with crews at the fire.

TRAA paramedics and a rehab unit were on scene for firefighters to get water, cool down, and have their vitals checked before returning to the fire.

"A few firefighters were treated for heat related issues," Fleming said, "They have been treated here at the scene and released back into duty."

The cause of the fire is unknown. Fleming said crews will work through the night and into the morning clearing out the homes so investigators can try and determine the cause of the fire.

NIPSCO, AEP, Neighborhood Code, and the American Red Cross all assisted at the scene.