A family in the 5200 block of West Quan Wae Drive quickly evacuated after hearing what they described as noises in their basement followed by their home filling with smoke.
German Township Volunteer firefighters were sent to the home at 10 p.m. Thursday, said Fire Chief Matt Lynch.
The home had working smoke detectors which warned the family about the fire. The four adults, along with a 3-month-old and three dogs escaped the home without injury.
German Township’s Engine 81, Rescue 81, Tanker 81 and Chief 801 responded and arrived a few minutes later to find smoke pouring from the front door. Engine 81s crew located the fire in the basement and used a pressurized extinguisher to put the fire out.
Fire crews remained on the scene for just over an hour to ventilate all the smoke from the house and ensure the air quality returned to a normal level as checked with air meters.
The fire started in the back up battery system for the sump pump and rapidly spread up the wall to the ceiling, Lynch said. The fire caused a water pipe along the ceiling to break open and pour water onto the fire acting like a sprinkler. This allowed the fire to remain small and Engine 81’s crew to extinguish the remaining fire that was outside the reach of the broken water pipe.
German Township had 11 firefighters on the scene and was assisted by Columbus Township and Harrison Township Fire Departments, Bartholomew County Sheriff Deputies and the Bartholomew County Emergency Operations Center.
For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.
