Man In Stable Condition After Monday Night FireA man was injured and flown to a burn center after a house fire Monday night.
The victim has been identified as Steven D. Mawer, who resided in the second-floor apartment at 321 W. Fort Wayne St., Warsaw, according to a news release from Warsaw Police Department Det./Sgt. Brad Kellar on behalf of the Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory.
Around 9:30 p.m. Monday, a 911 call to Central Dispatch reported heavy smoke Monday night around North Columbia and West Fort Wayne streets, followed up quickly by additional 911 calls in the area. Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory, Warsaw Police and Lutheran EMS responded to the scene.
Warsaw’s engine first on scene identified heavy flames on the first story of 321 W. Fort Wayne St. and fire out of multiple windows. Fire personnel received reports of possibly trapped individuals within the burning structure.
A mutual aid request was put out to Winona Lake and Plain Township/Leesburg fire departments with several apparatus as well as manpower arriving on scene. Lutheran EMS, being informed of possible victims inside, requested Lutheran’s medical helicopter be en route to Kosciusko Community Hospital to be on standby for what was believed to be entrapped victim(s), the release states.
Fire crews entered the involved structure, performed a rescue search and located one victim on the second floor. He was removed from the building through a second-floor window and taken down by ladder to the ground level where medics were staging.
Fire crews conducted four different search patterns for potential victims on the first level. It was later confirmed that they were not at the residence at the time of the fire, the release states.
Mawer was flown to the burn center at Lutheran Hospital and his condition as of the press release Tuesday afternoon was listed as stable.
The affected structure is managed by Schafer Rentals LLC of Warsaw, the release states. The building sustained moderate fire damage estimated at approximately $125,100 with approximately $63,000 in damage to contents.
The incident is still under active investigation by the Indiana state fire marshal as well as Warsaw-Wayne Fire Marshal Joe Fretz.
