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SILVER LAKE - No cause has been determined for a Monday evening fire in which a 3-year-old girl died.
Leah Shelton was pronounced dead at the scene of the 6:18 p.m. house fire at the child's grandmother's house at 806 E. Main St., Silver Lake. Anita Shelton, no age available, suffered burns in her attempts to rescue the child from a southwest bedroom in the home, where the fire was determined to have started. The elder Shelton was admitted to Kosciusko Community Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition this morning.
A neighbor was airlifted from the scene to a Fort Wayne hospital after reportedly suffering a heart attack while trying to help rescue the child. Carrol Hamilton, 52, no address available, was listed in fair condition this morning at Parkview Hospital.
Officials said fire department personnel and two police officers were on the scene within five minutes of the fire call being received and crews were immediately notified that the child was in the house. The room the girl was in was said to be "heavily involved with fire" when firefighters got to the scene.
Because of the intensity of the fire, emergency personnel also were unsuccessful in their rescue attempts.
Firefighters had the blaze under control in about 30 minutes and worked to extinguish the fire for about 1-1/2 hours.
An autopsy will be performed on Leah Shelton today at St. Joe Hospital, Fort Wayne, to determine the cause of death. Investigators said the fire is not suspicious in nature and it appears the child was asleep in a bed when the fire broke out.
Fire damage was limited to two rooms in the house, with smoke damage reported throughout the structure. Silver Lake firefighters were called back to the scene this morning because of smoldering insulation threatening to rekindle the fire.
Assisting in the fire investigation were the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, Kosciusko County Coroner's Office, Squad 70 - the county's fire investigation team - and the Indiana State Fire Marshal's Office.
Michael Wilson of the Warsaw Fire Department, who is heading up the Squad 70 investigation, said followup interviews will be conducted to determine who was doing what in the house when the fire began. Neighbors also will be interviewed.
