No one was injured
on Saturday--including a family pet--in a fire which badly damaged a
residence in the Whispering Sands Mobile Home Park north of U.S. Highway 6,
the Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department said.
Deputy Fire Chief
Tom Shapen told the Chesterton Tribune today that, at approximately
6:45 a.m., the LTFVD--along with the Chesterton and South Haven FDs on
automatic mutual aid--were dispatched to a home in the 1000 block of Sun
Valley Drive. The first firefighters at the scene--Shapen and the CFD
crew--reported a working fire with smoke showing, with all human occupants
safely evacuated.
The family’s dog,
however, had not made it out of the mobile home, Shapen said.
Firefighters, using
around 1,000 gallons of water, “knocked it down pretty quickly and managed
to confine it to one room,” the living and kitchen area off the main entry
way.
South Haven Fire
Chief Jones, meanwhile, found the dog in a more remote area of the home, a
back bedroom, unharmed, Shapen said.
There was smoke and
heat damage throughout the residence and actual fire damage in the main
area, Shapen noted. He estimated total damage to structure and contents at
$25,000.
The cause of the
fire remains under investigation but Shapen did call it accidental.
“I always want to
thank our mutual-aid departments,” Shapen added. “Everyone did a good job.”