Rash of fires keep Boone County's firefighters hopping over the weekend

Maria Flora, The Lebanon Reporter, Ind.
·2 min read

Apr. 3—Local fire departments battled an unusual number of blazes over the weekend but reported no injuries.

Firefighters rushed to an apartment fire at 327 Longley Drive in Lebanon on Friday morning. The blaze began in a first-floor bathroom, according to Boone County Communications Center records.

The Lebanon Fire Department evacuated the building and squelched the fire in about 15 minutes from the 911 call that reported it.

Fire destroyed another home just before midnight Saturday at 5305 S. County Road 50 East.

Nick Starkey told authorities that he was tending a controlled fire that spread to the abandoned house that was slated for destruction anyway, according to 911 dispatch records. Lebanon firefighters brought that blaze under control and left it in Starkey's hands.

And a barn that had been torn down ignited at 481 S. C.R. 1200 E., Hamilton County. The barn was surrounded by fields of dry vegetation, and the Zionsville Fire Department assisted local firefighters.

The homeowner took over control of the smoldering fire after a little more than an hour of firefighter attention.

A smoldering tree fell onto a fence at 5033 E. C.R. 100 S., Lebanon, Friday afternoon. Firefighters were put on alert about that tree but didn't have to douse it. But they were called to intervene when a controlled fire spread to trees at 4995 S. C. R. 25 W., Lebanon, just after 8 p.m. Saturday, according to dispatch records.

And firefighters found landscaping ablaze after someone reported what looked like flames shooting from a drive-thru sign at 50 Brendon Way, Zionsville.

An employee threw a bucket of water on the fire and authorities followed up with a fire extinguisher.

Neighbors alarmed by the smell of smoke reported a few fires around the county, but they were controlled burns of vegetation or fires in fire pits.

Trash burning is prohibited in Indiana. Very few materials are legal to burn, other other than vegetation. Municipalities often enforce strict guidelines.

For the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's regulations, visit the website at https://www.in.gov/idem/openburning/exempt- burning-activities-and-required-conditions /#:~:text=Recreational%20or%20ceremonial%20fires%20are,charcoal%2C%20and%20clean%20 petroleum%20products.