Two Occupants Rescued From Demotte House Fire
On September 26, 2023, at approximately 10:51 PM, the Demotte Police Department received multiple reports of a structure fire in the 600 block of Fir St. Sw., according to the Keener Twp Fire Department.
While en route to the scene, Demotte Police Department Dispatch stated that two occupants were inside the residence.
Keener Twp. Volunteer Fire Department, Keener Twp. EMS, Demotte Police, and Jasper County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene, where they found a garage was fully engulfed.
Keener Twp. Fire Department requested additional fire and EMS departments for assistance immediately.
On arrival firefighters entered the home and saved two occupants from the residence; three others made it out of the house on their own before Keener Twp. Fire Department arrived.
Three of the occupants were transported to the University of Chicago for treatment.
Fire Chief Tom Fentress stated, “Once the patients were saved from the house and given to EMS, the firefighters transitioned into extinguishment mode of the fire. Our firefighters battled the structure fire for over five hours.”
Fire Chief Fentress stated that explosions reported by neighbors were believed to be a possible natural gas line in the garage area that had ruptured, causing the explosion sound. Further investigation is being held by the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office and is ongoing.
