Family of 10 ‘displaced’ after escaping house fire on northeast side, suffering minor injuries
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Firefighters say that a family of 10 is now “displaced” after their home caught fire Sunday morning on the northeast side of Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis Fire Department received multiple reports about a residence fire in the 8100 block of Tanager Court just after 8:20 a.m. Multiple fire crews arrived and saw heavy fire and smoke coming from the second floor of a two-story home.
The fire department says the home was owned by a grandmother and grandfather who also lived with two of their adult children — a brother and sister — and the brother’s wife and five children. The grandfather was not home when the fire broke out.
According to a news release, when one of the children tried to go downstairs to investigate, they were pushed back with heavy smoke. The child ran back upstairs and alerted the family to get out.
Firefighters say the adult children, brother’s wife, and five children escaped from the home by jumping out of windows. Adults caught each child as they dropped.
The grandmother went out through the front door.
The brother and sister, along with an IFD firefighter, were taken to local hospitals with slight injuries.
The family says they have no idea how the fire started but are extremely thankful that the working smoke alarms alerted them.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control in 20 minutes. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
IFD later released three 911 calls from neighbors reporting the incident. A call from a next-door neighbor can be heard here.