LOGANSPORT, Ind. — A house fire believed to have claimed several lives in Logansport is being investigated by police and fire authorities.
So far, authorities said that only one death has been confirmed, but more are anticipated. Early reports said that six people were killed, including four children.
In a late Wednesday morning press conference, Indiana State Police Sgt. Tony Slocum said the fire has not yet been classified as criminal or accidental. But the approach to the investigation mirrors a criminal investigation.
“We’re going to treat it as such until we find out it’s not. We know there’s speculation out on social media and in the media that this is arson. We have not confirmed that is the case. We don’t want to provide any speculation ... that serves no purpose for anybody,” Slocum said
Slocum also acknowledged a suicide elsewhere in Carroll County. However, no connection has been made between the fire and that incident at this time.
State Fire Marshal Jim Greeson said that even hours after the fire was extinguished, investigators had not yet been able to enter the home. The level of destruction will make determining the cause of the fire more difficult, according to Greeson.
“We've got an excavation unit here that’s going to systematically pull this apart so we can get in and actually do our investigation,” Greeson said. “We’re here to assist the Cass County Sheriff’s Department to determine the cause and origin if we can. It’s going to be very difficult.”
The fire was reported about 1:50 a.m., Cass County Sheriff Randy Pryor said. Two people, believed to be a mother and adult son, escaped and were treated at an area hospital. Information on their injuries was not available.
Two Cass County deputies were first at the scene. They climbed a roof and broke a window to get inside and save people but Pryor said the powerful flames and smoke pushed them back.
Firefighters arrived soon after and were also thwarted by flames and heat.
“It’s pretty numbing when initial dispatch is telling us people are entrapped in the structure and they’re saying multiple people,” Cass County Fire Lt. Steve Krispen told Fox59.
A video posted on Twitter by Mitchell Kirk with the Logansport Pharos-Tribune shows flames billowing from the home.
Firefighters from Logansport and other agencies fought the blaze for more than five hours. They dealt with frigid temperatures and a shortage of water.
The home is in a rural area with no fire hydrants.
The first tanker trucks at the scene were emptied in minutes, but Krispen said crews were only without water for about five minutes.
"Some of these rural areas, firefighters are used to carrying water with them when they respond to the scene," Hosick said. "It can be tricky, especially in winter."
Slocum said the fire was just the latest in a rash of tragedy near Logansport, a town of about 17,755 people. Other recent incidents included a teenager dying in an impaired driving crash, a boy killed in an accidental shooting and two men killed Tuesday night on a Cass County roadway, Slocum said.
The cause and origin of the fire remained under investigation. No information has been released on the victim or victims.
