MENTONE – A pole barn fire Thursday night at the intersection of South CR 600W and West Blue Jay Drive near Palestine Lake was spotted by a Burket firefighter.
Burket Fire Chief Kevin McSherry said his son, Jason McSherry, Burket assistant fire chief, was on his way home Thursday from the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner when he spotted flames peaking out of the eaves of the building.
Jason called it in, and then walked around the building to see if there was anything that could be moved out of the way of the fire, Kevin McSherry said.
The building was quickly engulfed by then.
Burket Fire Department got the call at 9:35 p.m., with the Mentone Fire Department being called in for tanker and then full assist at 9:38 p.m.
A pickup was parked by the building with the keys in it. Jason moved the truck away from the building fire to prevent any damage to it.
Kevin said the property owner is Brenda Rose, 4244 S. CR 600W, Mentone.
Mentone Fire Department Chief Mike Yazel said the fire to the metal-sided pole barn was possibly caused by a heat lamp inside the structure.
Kevin said the lamp had been used to keep pets warm, but at the time of the fire there were no animals inside.
The building is considered a total loss. No injuries were reported. Firefighters were on scene for about two hours.
“It’s just an unfortunate turn of events and we thank God it was 23 degrees above freezing and not below,” Kevin said.
