Fire displaces residents of 14 apartments

Jan. 12--Indiana State University freshman Lea McKay lost her puppy, her home and many of her possessions Friday morning after a fire broke out at Sycamore Place Apartments at 11th and Spruce streets near the ISU campus.

All residents of the two-story building, which has 14 apartments, were displaced. No one was injured.

McKay had just gone grocery shopping at Walmart when she received a call notifying her of the fire; she left her groceries to rush home. Her puppy had died from smoke inhalation, she said.

The ISU freshman also serves in the military and works at Union Hospital.

"I've worked so hard for this. You just don't expect things like this to happen," she said, in tears.

She did not have renter's insurance.

McKay will be staying with friends. Asked if she needed help with anything, she said, "I'm sure I can figure it out. I've been homeless before and I've made it this far, so I'm sure I can do it again."

Many ISU residents live in the apartments, and some had not yet returned from winter break. ISU classes resume Tuesday.

Four of the apartments sustained heavy damage from the fire, and some of the others had smoke damage, fire officials said.

The fire was accidental and electrical in nature, and the building was later condemned by the city building inspector's office, said Norm Loudermilk, assistant chief with the Terre Haute Fire Department.

Dan Bell, Terre Haute lead building inspector, said the apartment owners "must bring it to state standards before it can re-open."

The fire began in a void between the ceiling of a lower apartment and the floor of the apartment above it, Loudermilk said. It did not begin inside any of the individual apartments.

Also, Loudermilk said, "There were not fire stops in areas where there needed to be. We'll make sure they take care of their building and make it compliant before people are allowed to go back in."

He noted the scene was "pretty hectic," as some of the students apparently were asleep at the time the fire broke out just after 10 a.m. Fortunately, everyone made it out okay, he said.

The fire department had two ladder crews and five engine crews on scene, said Jeff Fisher, fire chief. Because it involved an apartment complex, "We want to make sure we get all hands on it and get working on it right away" to stop it from spreading.

"They guys did a fantastic job stopping it," Fisher said.

Another resident affected by the fire was Pat Teeters, an electrical engineer at Indiana State University who lived in one of the apartments that sustained heavy damage.

Teeters was at work when ISU's fire safety specialist, Bill Fairbanks, notified him about the fire.

The apartment complex planned to help relocate those affected, Teeters said.

Destiny Dye, assistant manager at Sycamore Place Apartments, said they would work with affected residents to help them re-locate in different apartments or hotels.

"We're very relieved no one is hurt," Dye said.

The American Red Cross had a volunteer at the scene to assist those who needed it, said Duchess Adjei, Red Cross regional communications director. "We're helping one of the individuals who needs pretty much everything," she said.

The Red Cross volunteer planned to return later in the day, as well, she said.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at 812-231-4235 or at sue.loughlin@tribstar.com Follow Sue on Twitter @TribStarSue.

___

(c)2019 The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, Ind.)

Visit The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute, Ind.) at tribstar.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.