Submitted
The early morning hours of Sunday, July 17 brought heavy thunderstorms and lightning to the area, causing the Carmel Fire Department (CFD) to respond to 16 emergencies between 1 and 4 a.m. Eleven of these were between 1:10 and 2:15 a.m., with four reports for fires and three actual working fires going on during this same time period.
Throughout the night, CFD worked with multiple fire agencies, including fire departments from Indianapolis, Pike Township (Marion County), Zionsville, Westfield, Whitestown, Noblesville, Fishers and Sheridan assisting on numerous runs overnight. These incidents were concentrated on the northwest and north sides of Carmel and the surrounding area.
- CFD assisted Westfield on a fire in a house where the owners were out of town.
- At 1:19 a.m., CFD responded to a home near 136th Street and Ditch Road in Carmel on a possible lightning strike. Upon arrival, CFD personnel found smoke within the structure but no active fire.
- Following this, there was a report of a residence fire near 111th Street and Spring Mill Road with another possible lightning strike. Smoke was visible to firefighters upon arrival, and they were able to keep the damage to the home minimal.
- Around 1:44 a.m., CFD assisted Westfield again, this time in the 161st Street and Spring Mill Road area where a medium-size, two-story new home under construction caught fire. This house was not occupied and there were no injuries reported, but it was a total loss.
- At 2:56 a.m., CFD responded to 131st Street and Shelborne Road where they found heavy fire out of the roof upon arrival. There were no injuries and homeowners were able to get themselves out of the home safely. CFD was able to locate and remove two of the pets (one cat and one rabbit).