Rural fire departments tackle Bartholomew County blaze

Firefighters from several volunteer fire departments fought a rural home fire Saturday afternoon in Bartholomew County .

German Township had firefighters at their station already when they received the call at 3:55 p.m. that afternoon. They are reporting that there was heavy fire at the home in the 6800 block of County Road 475E when they arrived on scene.

They and Hope volunteer firefighters fought the blaze from the outside after an attempt to go into the home was blocked by the high heat and hoarding conditions inside, the firefighters report. Thermal readings showed ceiling temperatures of 900 degrees.

As the firefighting continued, more units were called in and, in all, nine fire departments responded including Hartsville , Clay Township, Harrison Township, Wayne Township, Shelby County departments from Flat Rock and Marietta and Burney-Clay department out of Decatur County.  The Salvation Army also brought drinking water and food to the scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. The home was a total loss, according to German Township. Hope volunteers report that no one was home at the time of the fire.