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SYRACUSE - The fire that destroyed a Syracuse restaurant early Sunday was deliberately set.
Fire and police officials said this morning that the fire was "incendiary" in nature and was started in the basement of the Porthole Bar & Grill, 9215 E. Hatchery Road, on the southeast side of Lake Wawasee. The restaurant reportedly was not open for business for several weeks prior to the fire being set.
While by definition, incendiary indicates that a fire was deliberately set, Syracuse Fire Department Chief Larry Hunter said that he hesitates to refer to the blaze that required six fire departments to extinguish as arson.
"Arson is a word that we don't use until we know we've got somebody and can prove they did it," Hunter said.
According to Detective Thomas Littlefield with the Indiana State Police the matter is under active investigation. While there are no suspects at this time, Littlefield said that interviews with various people will be conducted during the next few days.
Initially, Littlefield said, there was some difficulty with the investigation due to the water content in the basement of the structure caused from an artesian well. Three walls had to be removed before investigators could get into the basement, he said.
The building and contents, which were a total loss, are valued at $250,000, Littlefield said.
Because the Syracuse Fire Department already cleared the scene of the fire on Sunday and left the area unsecured, it was necessary to obtain a search warrant to return to the property on Monday, according to Hunter. After leaving the scene on Monday, the ISP retained control of the scene until fire officials were able to return on Tuesday.
The fire department's investigation concluded about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and, because of the finding of an incendiary fire, the case was turned over to the ISP. Syracuse Police Department and the Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office also are involved in the ongoing investigation.
Hunter said that the property owners, Cornelius and Lynn Oswald, have been cooperative with investigators on the property.
