Suspicious Fire Under Investigation In Liberty Township
Liberty Fire Department was initially called to respond for a fire alarm at a storage/garage building in the late hours of Monday night at around 11:40 PM off of Old State Road 49, just south of the Duneland Bus Barn facility in Liberty Township, according to Lt. Matthew Wineland. The Assistant Fire Chief Michael Wineland arrived on scene with nothing showing from the exterior portion of the building initially.
Upon investigating, Assistant Fire Chief Wineland noted broken windows on the backside of the structure and requested the response then be changed to a Structure Fire; as a fire was spotted inside the structure. Porter County 911 dispatched additional fire units once the response was changed by Assistant Chief Wineland. Additionally Porter County Sheriff’s Department was requested to respond due to the activity that was noted on scene.
Fire crews were able to locate the source of the fire inside the structure and made an interior attack on the fire, saving the structure of any major damage.
Fire Chief Brian Duncan on scene requested a response from the Porter County Fire Investigation Strike Team (F.I.S.T.) to help investigate the incident. Chief Duncan reports the structure was unoccupied at the time and no injuries were reported at the scene.
The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time and remains under investigation. Arson has not been ruled out at this time, Wineland stated.
