Chaos calmed

By Melanie Hayes and Justin Schneider

June 16, 2006 10:45 pm

— In the span of about two hours, Madison County authorities scattered in seven directions rushing to a house fire, a motorcycle accident, a business fire, a four-car accident, a SUV rollover accident and more.
FIRE RAVISHES RURAL LAPEL HOME
The fire was so hot that the plastic bulb cover of a light post in front of the burning house melted and froze into place like an icicle.
But much worse was the sight that the lamp once lit.
An enormous white cloud of smoke formed a heaving cloak above and around the one-story brick home located at 6220 W. 100N, which had flames shooting out of it Friday afternoon.
The garage, which was noticeably more damaged than the house, may be where the fire started, according to the homeowner, said Pendleton Fire Chief Danny Gardner. The home belongs to Ryan and Dorina Flesher. Only their son was home at the time of the fire.
“He told me someone came and rang the doorbell to tell him about the fire,” Gardner said.
Firefighters from Lapel, Pendleton, Richland Township, Frankton and Hamilton County’s Wayne Township sped to the fire to assist.
“The fire had a tremendous head start over us before we got here,” Gardner said. “The garage was fully involved and the attic area of the house was 3/4 involved. It was burning through.
“The fire was contained to above the ceiling divider but parts of the ceiling fell through,” he said. “There is water and smoke damage below.”
Investigators were still working to determine the fire’s cause Friday evening.
Austin Castro, 12, had been at his grandmother’s home two houses away, and saw the scene before firefighters did.
“I was really scared. I got to there,” he said pointing to the home catty-corner to the burning home, “and felt it was really, really hot. It was just in flames. Then I heard a big crashing sound and it was the garage that had collapsed. Then there was another crash, and it was the roof.”
Wally Copeland, who lives a few houses from the home, got to the scene even sooner.
“I was here when it was just the garage, and it was completely engulfed,” he said. “It definitely started in the garage. The garage roof was pretty well on fire, but none of the roof (over the house) was on fire.”
Copeland said he also saw a young man lying down on the front lawn.
“They have dogs in there and he went in and got those dogs out,” he said. “When I got here he was out in the yard. He had wet towels on him. He evidently made several trip in to get those dogs. He looked like he was overcome with heat exhaustion.”
Gardner said that he also saw a person lying in the yard getting oxygen. A young man was later seen sitting in an ambulance, still breathing through an oxygen mask. Gardner said a woman may have been taken to the hospital to be examined as well.
RURAL ALEXANDRIA SERIOUS ACCIDENT
A 29-year-old Alexandria man was in “very critical” condition Friday after his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck near the rural intersection of County Roads 300 East and 1000 North.
Police said the Honda motorcycle was traveling east on 1000 North shortly before 5 p.m. when a Chevrolet S10 pickup driven by Paul Williams, 64, of Alexandria entered the intersection, striking the motorcycle.
The cyclist — whose name was unavailable at press time — was airlifted by PHI to Wishard Health Services, Indianapolis. The extent of his injuries were unknown, but the victim was in “very critical” condition, said Madison County Sheriff’s Maj. Ron Richardson.
According to an eyewitness who was driving behind him, Williams failed to heed a stop sign.
“Williams was traveling south on County Road 300 East,” said Richardson. “He slowed at the intersection and proceeded into the intersection. At some point Williams will be cited for a traffic violation.”
The motorcycle came to rest in a field southwest of the intersection. A pair of denim shorts and a bloody yellow T-shirt could be seen among the wreckage there, along with a Notre Dame baseball cap bearing a clover emblem.
Richardson said a helmet was found on the scene, but it remains unclear whether the cyclist was wearing it at the time of the accident.
Williams, who was uninjured, said he never saw the motorcycle.
“I was heading this way,” he said, gesturing south. “I never saw him until I hit him. I don’t know what happened. I have no answers.”
Williams said he survived two accidents during his years of riding motorcycles, but gave up the hobby a few years ago. He said that experience made him more mindful of cyclists.
“I always try to watch them, to be careful and to give them the right-of-way,” Williams said.
MINOR FIRE AT MIDDLETOWN BUSINESS
A garden hose and five fire extinguishers were the only tools required to extinguish a Friday afternoon fire at a Middletown business.
Frank McCrocklin, owner of McCrocklin Ford and Mobility, 683 N. Eighth St., said he discovered smoke coming from the former Video Works. A fire had ignited in a wooden entranceway on the back of the cinder-block structure.
McCrocklin had purchased the building and was remodeling it as part of his own business.
The Middletown Fire Department responded, but the blaze had essentially been extinguished. Officials on the scene had not determined the cause of the fire, but McCrocklin has his own idea.
“It was probably a cigarette,” he said. “They’re not supposed to be smoking back there, but with nobody around, somebody was probably smoking.”
The wooden entranceway was nearly destroyed and smoke caused significant discoloration to the exterior of the building.
A two-hour 911 “Twilight Zone”
n 3:53 p.m. — Serious motorcycle/car accident
n 4:01 p.m. — Middletown business fire at Indiana 236 and Henry County Road 800 West
n 4:27 p.m. — House fire at 6220 W. 100N, rural Lapel
n 4:37 p.m. — Four-car accident at Indiana 67 between U.S. 36 and Indiana 38, Pendleton. No injuries. One car’s breaks failed and then a car bumped into them, and then another car and another.
n 4:57 p.m. — Unconscious man in a vehicle in a barn on North 400 West. Called turned out to be a conscious intoxicated man.
n 5:52 p.m. — Cooking fire at 1295 W. 1550N, Summitville. Minor fire. Fire department not needed.
n 6:03 p.m. — Two SUV accident with rollover into a field at Indiana 37 and 600 North on the Hamilton County side. Minor injuries.
“We have three people handling those calls as they dispatch all fire units out,” said Madison County Sheriff Maj. Ron Richardson. “This is definitely a multiple-task job. While they were dispatching all of these calls, they were calling in more fire departments to assist and then other fire departments to cover their stations. They deserve a lot of credit for today. They don’t always get recognized for all the hard work they do.”

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