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A fireman was treated at Kosciusko Community Hospital for heat exhaustion after battling a Monday blaze in Maple Run.
The fire, at the Chad Gottschalk residence, 2028 S. Maple Run, destroyed an attached garage and damaged the kitchen. The rest of the house was damaged by smoke.
Volunteer fireman Jay Moore, a four-year fire department veteran, was inside the garage fighting the fire with Capt. Tom Drummond.
When Moore came out, he became overheated.
"He (Moore) was inside fighting the fire and when he came out he got a little too much heat," said Warsaw Fire Chief Ken Shepherd. "Jay's got some pretty good experience in the four years he's been on, he just got a little too hot. It may have been he didn't have enough fluids."
Shepherd said Moore was treated at the scene and then transported to KCH, where he received intravenous treatment. He was released from the hospital Monday evening and was doing well today, Shepherd said.
"The EMS did a real good job on him," Shepherd said. "They had him in the air-conditioned ambulance, but they thought it would be a good idea to take him to the hospital. I think it was a good choice to take him in and get him looked at."
Firefighters face heat exhaustion each time they battle a blaze in high heat and high humidity, Shepherd said.
There were no other injuries.
The fire broke out at approximately 4:15 p.m. - with temperatures in the low 90s.
Fire investigator Terry Himes said the fire was caused by a coiled electrical cord on a workbench in the garage.
The cord was left plugged in and an oily rag was placed on top of it.
"A coiled cord generates heat and it eventually ignited the rag," Himes said.
He urged homeowners to exercise caution in the use of extension or other electrical cords.
"We've seen a case where the homeowner threw a rug over a coiled extension cord and the heat melted the cord," he said. While there was no fire in that case, there could have been.
Himes said coiled electrical cords should never be left plugged in.
Firefighters were on the scene for nearly an hour and a half. Damage estimates were not available.
