A Tuesday morning fire on Traction Road resulted in a total residential loss while high temperatures forced firefighters to combat the flames in rotation.
The Crawfordsville Fire Department responded to 2371 E. Traction Road at approximately 10:45 a.m. Tuesday for a structure fire involving a two-story barn that contained a residential area on the first floor.
The first-floor residential area is occupied by Timothy Summers, let by owner James Leming.
Summers was not home at the time and no injuries were reported. However, one firefighter was treated at the scene and three others were closely monitored, CFD Chief Scott Busenbark said.
“We called people in who were off duty just because of the heat and we rotated people out,” Busenbark said. “We had on firefighter (who) had to have an IV. It was a ‘hot’ fire.
The cause of the fire is unknown, pending an ongoing investigation by Indiana Fire Marshal Stephen Cox.
Property damage estimates were not known at the time of publication, but the first floor was said to be a “total loss.”
“I wasn’t able to get a good estimate ... his apartment was burned and the structural members were burned,” Busenbark said. “It’s actually still standing but it was a total loss for the living area.”
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene. Foul play is not suspected at this time.
