House severely damaged by fire

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HANCOCK COUNTY — Multiple fire departments hauled in water and fought a blaze that tore through a rural home on Saturday afternoon.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at around 12:37 p.m. in the 5200 block of West County Road 200N.

Dave DeVore, battalion chief with the Buck Creek Township Fire Department, said heavy smoke and some flames were coming from the one-story ranch upon firefighters’ arrival.

“It escalated pretty quick,” DeVore said. “We think it had been burning for a little bit before we got there.”

No one was home at the time of the fire, he continued, adding a neighbor reported the smoke.

The rural location of the home, which is also far back off 200N, required water to be hauled in. DeVore said tanker trucks and firefighters form Sugar Creek Township, Green Township, Greenfield, Fountaintown and Moral Township in Shelby County also responded.

“We relied on a lot of mutual aid on this fire, and we had a lot of help from neighboring departments, and we appreciated it, and we needed it today,” he said.

DeVore said it took firefighters about an hour and a half to get the blaze under control and that they remained on scene for several hours after.

“The house isn’t really salvageable,” he said. “…There was severe damage to the house.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.