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NORTH WEBSTER – An unknown firefighter found a partially burned, folded military uniform in the rubble following a garage fire early Friday morning, June 26, and placed it on the burned engine of a car.
That simple act moved 37-year-old Adam Aguilar.
“That was really nice of them to do that,” he said, becoming emotional. “It’s a little bit of a positive, coming back from the hospital to see everything.”
Aguilar suffered second-degree burns to his hands.
The disabled Marine veteran lost not only his livelihood in the fire, but also irreplaceable items and a visual reminder of a project he worked on with his late father.
Tippecanoe Township and Turkey Creek Township fire territories were notified at 2:03 a.m. of a structure fire at 8939 E. Backwater Road, North Webster. Four additional departments – Leesburg, Winona Lake, Cromwell and Pierceton – were called to provide tankers and manpower.
Tippecanoe Township Fire Territory Battalion Chief Adam Doyle said firefighters arrived to find the garage fully engulfed and beyond saving. Crews launched a defensive attack, protecting the nearby home, trees and other property while keeping the fire contained.
The radiant heat melted the vinyl siding on the east side and part of the front of the nearby residence. A 2018 Chevrolet Impala parked just outside the garage had its windows blown out and its engine compartment destroyed. Military items Aguilar owned were also lost.
Tankers were filled with water drafted from the Backwater Lake access ramp. When the fire was extinguished, firefighters estimated they had used 34,000 gallons of water.
Doyle said the cause remains undetermined. Firefighters stayed on scene until approximately 5 a.m.
Aguilar said it was more than just a garage.
“Me and my dad built this before he passed. Our plan was to move to the upstairs, but he passed before we ever got it finished,” he said.
The upstairs was an unfinished shell with only framing, while the lower level served as the garage.
Inside were original industrial Craftsman tools, lawn equipment used in his business, Trust The Vet, and an old Shop Smith.
“I can’t vouch for it, but the research I did on the serial number on the Shop Smith indicates it was purchased within the serial number range of ones bought by Montgomery Ward himself when he moved the company from California to the Midwest,” Aguilar said.
In addition to the tools, Aguilar lost a golf cart and the Impala.
“We lost a lot. All my dad’s tools. This was mine and my dad’s dream,” he said.
Aguilar and his wife, Penny, have been cleared to remain in their home. He credits his father for leaving the original siding in place when vinyl siding was installed.
“The fire never touched it,” he said.
He also shared details of discovering the fire and what neighbors told him afterward.
Aguilar said neighbors reported hearing banging noises between 1 and 1:30 a.m. He then heard an explosion, which startled him because of his post-traumatic stress disorder. He had been sleeping on the couch because he planned to get up early to mow.
The Aguilars had planned a weekend vacation to Deer Creek.
“The explosion made me jump up and look outside. It was just bright as day,” he said.
He went to the kitchen and saw flames shooting from beneath the roof and over the top of the garage. He began yelling and grabbed his keys to move vehicles away from the building.
When he went outside, he tried to pull open the garage door to save his lawn equipment.
“Because I rely on that heavily,” he said.
Instead, he burned his hands.
He managed to move his truck a short distance away from the garage, but within moments, the fire had become too intense to approach.
It’s difficult for Aguilar to imagine what the future holds or what good may come from the fire.
“I’ll clear all this up and build something of my own. I can’t leave this property. My dad and his father built that,” he said, pointing to the house. “They straightened nails to build that. They built that with their bare hands.”
Aguilar said he is uncertain whether he has insurance coverage for everything that was lost, but he hopes to replace the equipment he needs to resume his business as soon as possible.
A Go Fund Me page to help the Aguilars has been set up. It can be found under “Support for Indiana Family After Devastating Fire” at https://www.gofundme.com
