Published: October 21, 2007 12:26 am         

Fire damages rural home

Goshen, Ind — A two-story rural Goshen home was seriously damaged by fire Saturday afternoon.

Three people were working on the property — but not inside the home — when smoke and flames were seen shooting out of the front of the wood-sided home at 15980 Ind. 4.

David Snyder, president of Someone Cares International, which owns the house, was one of those three people.

He said he tried to go in the front door but there was just too much smoke. “Flames were coming out of the middle window,” he said.

Clinton Township firefighters were called at 4:33 p.m. and arrived quickly, followed by Elkhart Township firefighters, who provided mutual aid.

About 30 firefighters had the blaze under control after making entry, Clinton Township Fire Chief Abe Schlabach said. Smoke and fire traveled through the lower section of the home.

Firefighters spent about three and a half hours at the scene.

Snyder said the home was not being lived in, but he and others were there frequently fixing up the place so it could be sold.

The home, which was built in the mid-1970s, sits on about two acres and there are buildings near it, which were not damaged.

“There wasn’t a lot to go wrong in there,” Snyder said.

Schlabach said he is ruling the fire as accidental. There was no electricity to the building, Schlabach said, and the source, possibly a candle, appeared to be in the living room.

“There was a lot of water and smoke damage through the whole house,” Schlabach said, adding that any damage on the second floor was from smoke.

The good news was that no one was injured, he said.