Fire erupts at Floyd Township home
"In 40 some years, this is one of the hottest fires I've seen" claimed Bainbridge Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Smith about a house fire at 2558 E. CR 500 North Monday night.
The home, owned by Jodi and Brian Judy, apparently caught fire in the late evening in the basement.
Bainbridge firefighter Mark Hoke was one of the first responders on the scene.
"It came up the basement stairwell and interior wall to the second floor. Most of the second floor has fallen through. I think the fire is probably only 50 percent contained," he said. Hoke is also the brother-in-law of the Judys.
Brian Judy was at a neighbor's home and had been grading the long, curvy driveway earlier in the evening. He saw a column of white smoke coming out of the west side of the home.
"If this had been two weeks earlier, we would have had a real problem getting any tankers down the drive. I'm not sure that we could have gotten even a pickup truck down it. Sometimes things happen for a reason, I guess," stated Bainbridge Fire Chief Mike Smith.
Jodi Judy told the BannerGraphic this was the second time in seven years that she has lost her home to fire.
"Six years ago my house in Bainbridge burned. And, when I was a little girl we had a fire in our house. I don't know why," she said.
The family has two daughters who live at home, a couple of children from a previous marriage who frequently stay at the home, a dog and several cats.
"Fortunately, no one was home. If this had happened in the middle of the night they might not have gotten out safely," said Hoke.
Firefighters responded to the blaze from Bainbridge, Roachdale, Greencastle, Van Bibber Lake, Floyd Township and Danville.
In the midst of the fire, one of the family's pet cats Oreo tried to head back toward the house. Jodi Judy called out to the cat but couldn't reach him. Hoke caught the cat and moved him away from the home.
"He's just trying to get back inside his house," sighed Judy.