BROOKSTON, Ind. (WLFI) – Authorities are investigating an early morning fire that happened inside a Brookston auction house Monday.
The fire began just after 1 a.m. inside the Rosewood Auction Center on North Prairie Street.
A 911 call reported a car on fire next to the auction house. Fire crews later discovered the car was inside the building.
The fire spread throughout the building. Five agencies were called in to assist.
No injuries were reported.
The fire caused an area of State Road 43, which turns into North Prairie Street, to be shut down for hours. The road reopened just after 7 a.m.
Frontier School Corporation was placed on a two-hour delay because of the fire. A school official stated power had to be shut off in the area as crews battled flames.
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BROOKSTON, Ind. (WLFI) – Multiple fire departments have been called to downtown Brookston for a structure fire.
A commercial building at 201 E. Third St. in downtown Brookston is engulfed in fire. Flames are visible from the roof and smoke is billowing from the building.
Fire crews from Brookston, Battle Ground, Chalmers, Delphi and Tippecanoe County were called in, and aerial units have been called to standby.
Brookston resident Marvin Astheimer said the building is used as a storage garage and there are many vehicles inside, including various classic cars, motorcycles and even a boat.
He said the owner of the building, Dennis Clark, is in Florida at the moment.
Astheimer said the show “American Pickers” were at the building in April 2016 to look at the items there and even purchased some.
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BROOKSTON, Ind. (WLFI) – Emergency crews are on scene of a train crash in Brookston.
The crash, which involves an SUV and a train, happened around 11:15 a.m. at the crossing at Eighth and Railroad streets. But authorities said the impact of the crash pushed the vehicle down the tracks near the crossing at Fourth and Railroad streets.
White County Sheriff Pat Shafer said even though the lights at the railroad crossing were working, the woman driving the SUV still attempted to cross the tracks. The SUV then collided with the train and was carried almost four blocks, or about a quarter of a mile, down the tracks.
Sheriff Shafer said the woman was taken to a Lafayette hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. She was the only person in her vehicle.
There were two engineers operating the train in the front cab, but both of them were uninjured. The train itself doesn’t appear to have sustained much damage.
As a heads up to parents picking up their children from Frontier Elementary School, Frontier School Corporation Superintendent Dan Sichting said the Eighth Street railroad crossing will be closed for several hours.
BROOKSTON, Ind. (WLFI) – A Red Cross shelter helping residents affected by the recent storms will close Saturday.
According to Red Cross public affairs representative Linda Starr, the shelter at Federated Church on Wood Street in Brookston will close at 8 p.m. The shelter will serve lunch and dinner before closing its doors.
Starr said some residents in the Brookston area have power, but power has not been restored to all homes. Crews hope to restore power to the entire area by the end of the night Saturday.
Anyone seeking outreach rehab, power for medical devices or a place to cool off can use the shelter at Federated Church until it closes.
Individuals or families needing more assistance after the shelter closes are asked to call the Lafayette Red Cross Office at 765-742-6975.
Starr also warns others to be cautious of people going door to door collecting donations for the Red Cross. The Red Cross does not collect donations that way. Starr said cases of this practice were reported in Logansport.
BROOKSTON, Ind. (WLFI) – State Road 43 and State Road 18 are closed in Brookston due to storm damage, downed power lines and a gas leak.
Officials are asking drivers to find alternative routes and avoid the area if possible.
“First I saw the lightning show, it was fantastic,” resident Brent Rogers said. “After a couple minutes, the power went out and it got ugly. You started hearing the cracking, the limbs going down, the trees falling down.”
Severe storms tore through the small town Thursday morning. They left behind extensive damage – the worst Troy Yeoman has ever seen in his role as town marshal.
“It came fast, very hard, a lot of damage in town. Trees are down, power lines. Some cars are damaged, houses are damaged,” Yeoman said.
While he was assessing the damage at his home, Rogers couldn’t help but wonder why the sirens never went off.
“Every Monday morning, we have a siren practice and drill, like normal. But this time, it did not go off,” Rogers said.
Yeoman said the sirens didn’t go off because the power went out.
“I had radio’s to White County dispatch to have them sound the alarm, sound the siren,” Yeoman said. “Before that could happen, the power went dead, so the siren never did activate. But it was requested to activate. I did what I could, driving around town with my lights and sirens on.”
Yeoman suggests residents find somewhere to go and stay. He says the power could be out for a few days.
White County EMA is working with the Red Cross to set up a shelter at Frontier Elementary School.
Crews will be working on the gas leak near 8th Street anywhere from noon until 5 p.m. Thursday.