Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - Three homes were destroyed by fire early Saturday morning on Ogden Point Road on Lake Wawasee. Syracuse Fire Chief Larry Hunter estimated that damage to the three houses could be as much as $2.5 million.
The flames were visible from Milford and North Webster, firefighters said as they responded to the fire.
Kosciusko County Sheriff's Corp. Floyd Knafel was first to spot the fire. He was reportedly on routine patrol in the neighborhood when he smelled smoke and discovered the fire.
A boater on his way home from The Frog also spotted the fire from the lake about the same time.
"It was engulfed when we got the call," Hunter said. The fire started in a home owned by R.L. and Grace Bearss at 12135 Ogden Point Road. "Within a minute or so, the second house [owned by Jim and Karen Tranter] was involved."
"There was wind and intense heat," Hunter said. He said the firefighters attacked the blaze from the east and west ends of the houses because they couldn't do anything in the center.
Hunter described the scene as a windstorm that blew embers across the area. The fire department lost some hose from the heat, but no one was injured from the smoke or flames.
The third home, belonging to Ray and Carol Swartzendruber, was badly damaged in the fire. The Swartzendrubers were the only family home at the time of the blaze since the Bearss and Tranters were out of town.
The Swartzendrubers were safely evacuated and watched as their home was destroyed.
Two houses neighboring the Bearss' to the west sustained damage to their siding from the heat. A separate garage on the Bearss' property was also damaged.
Hunter estimated 100 firefighters responded to the call, from North Webster, Cromwell, Milford, Warsaw and Benton Township. They stayed at the scene until 8 a.m.
The investigation into the cause of the fire will be difficult because no one saw where in the Bearss' home the fire began. With the total loss of the home, the scene provided few clues as to the cause.
"We have no idea what started it," Hunter said. "With the destruction, there is nothing to sift through to tell what caused it."
