HOPE — Damage is estimated at about $100,000 as the result of a New Year’s Eve fire that destroyed a metal barn south of Schaefer Lake near Hope.
While nobody was injured, Hope Volunteer Fire Chief Adam Mathis said he was informed the building and contents were not insured. That includes a second-floor apartment, multiple vehicles, an automotive lift and a substantial number of tools, Mathis said.
While the fire inside the barn owned by Mike Whittington was reported at 5:50 p.m. Sunday, the fire chief believes the metal building kept the flames and smoke from being noticed as the fire spread inside. By the time first responders arrived near the intersection of County Road 500N and South Lake Shore Drive, flames were already shooting through the barn’s roof, Mathis said.
The owner’s son, Craig Whittington, told firefighters he had placed some wood in a wood stove used to heat the barn before going home Sunday afternoon to make dinner, Mathis said.
While some family members believe the stove became faulty, both Mathis and Hope Town Marshal Matt Tallent say the cause remains under investigation by Bartholomew County Fire Investigator Gene Wever and the Hope Volunteer Fire Department.
“There was really too much damage to determine anything (Sunday),” Mathis said.
Besides Hope, both Clifford and Hartsville were the initial fire departments dispatched to the scene. They later received assistance from volunteers from Clay Township, Flat Rock in Shelby County and Burney Clay Township in Decatur County, Mathis said.
Firefighters were on the scene until 11:18 p.m. — 42 minutes before Mathis officially succeeded Chad Emmert as the town’s fire chief at midnight on Jan. 1. Mathis had served as assistant chief during Emmert’s tenure.
