SILVER LAKE - All Tim Drake could do was watch as his home burned while his wife was en route to the hospital.
His wife, Sue Drake, was in the basement of their home at 802 E. Main St. in Silver Lake when she reported the fire around 3 p.m. Friday.
While talking to dispatch she alerted them that she wasn't able to get out of the home.
Silver Lake Town Marshal Craig Hollopeter was one of the first people on the scene.
"I was talking to dispatch while they were talking to her," said Hollopeter. "By the time I got there she had managed to climb out of the back window on the first floor where officers were waiting for her."
She was taken to Kosciusko Community Hospital where she was treated for smoke inhalation.
While Tim Drake looked on, crews from Silver Lake and other departments around the county battled the blaze that had fully engulfed the home.He said that he and his wife, along with their two children, had lived in the home for eight years.
Now the Drakes will have to rely on the American Red Cross for assistnace in the short term.
The cause of the fire was not available as of late Friday afternoon.
The home, which ironically is located next to the Silver Lake Fire Department, is believed to be a total loss.
