Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MENTONE - A blaze that started around 2:22 a.m. today near Palestine Lake is believed to be a case of arson.
Acording to Burket Fire Chief Kevin McSherry, the suspicious fire started at several spots inside the one-story wood-framed house at 5678 Osprey Drive. It appeared that accelerants were used to start the fire.
Warsaw Fire Marshal Mike Wilson was called to the scene with Bailey, a labrador retriever trained to sniff for accelerants. The dog detected accelerant in the house.
McSherry said the fire was "fully involved" when 13 Burket firefighters arrived on the scene nine minutes after receiving the call. Fire crews were at the scene until 6 a.m.
The house was owned by Woody and Deb Shepherd and rented by Brian Woods. Police were at the residence Tuesday to ask Woods to remove his belongings.
The windows were broken out of the house, and, according to McSherry, "anybody could have gotten in there."
No one was home at the time of the blaze.
The home was destroyed, but no damage estimate was available.
