ALEXANDRIA, Ind. — The State Fire Marshal is investigating after a man died and two firefighters sustained minor injuries in a Madison County house fire Sunday morning.
But if you didn’t know what to look for, you’d have no idea tragedy struck Marion Avenue just one day ago – the charred scene tucked away from view, the scent of smoke already gone.
“Started off as like a grey smoke, there was kind of a fog in the air,” nearby neighbor Jacob Gill recalled. “Then it turned to black.”
Footage from another neighbor’s security camera shows the moment four residents managed to escape before being taken to the hospital for inhaling smoke. According to Alexandria Fire Chief Adam Matson, firefighters were met with “hoarding conditions” that made it difficult to search for the fifth resident, who was reportedly trapped in a back bedroom.
“We don’t know what we’re going to encounter in anybody’s residence, but we do the best that we can,” Chief Adam Matson said. “Those hoarding incidences do hinder firefighting operations and delay us extinguishing the fire.”
Two firefighters were slightly injured during the search – one after falling through the floor, and another after receiving an electric shock before power was cut to the home. By the time 67-year-old Donald Creek was found, about half an hour after first responders got there, he was dead.
“Everybody was getting out of the house but nobody got Donald out,” said Randolph Kelley, a friend of the victim. “Donald Creek lost his life because he couldn’t walk.”
Randolph Kelley across the street says he and Creek had been friends for 30 years, so when he saw smoke, he was worried – knowing Creek sometimes struggled to walk.
“I was always concerned for him. I wish he would’ve went to a nursing home but he did not go to a nursing home because he didn’t want to leave his home. He wanted to die in his home,” Kelley added. “When I found out he was still in there, I was heartbroken.”
Chief Matson said they’re still investigating how Creek ended up trapped, and what caused the fire. It took them about an hour to get the flames under control, the last unit leaving the scene eight hours after the initial 911 call.
“It’s terrible, especially around the holidays. We would just like to remind everybody to please have working smoke detectors, check your smoke detectors, and use space heaters properly,” Matson said.
The two injured firefighters were able to return to work the same day. The department shared the following timeline of the fire:
- 911 Call Received: 07:41 a.m.
- Dispatched Apparatus: 07:41 a.m.
- First Unit en route: 07:44 a.m.
- First Unit Arrived: 07:47 a.m.
- Victim Located: 08:16 a.m.
- Knock Down on the Fire: 08:29 a.m.
- Last Unit Cleared: 15:57 p.m.
