Fire destroys home

With temperatures hovering in the 20s, firefighters from eight departments battled a fire at this rural Fillmore home Tuesday afternoon. Investigators have not determined the cause of the fire, but most of the fire was in the garage on the home's north side when first responders arrived.

FILLMORE -- Eight fire departments from two counties responded to a house fire near the Putnam-Hendricks county line Tuesday afternoon.

The fire destroyed much of the home owned by Gary Hazlett at 488 N. County Road 850 East, with the remainder heavily damaged by smoke.

The initial dispatch for the fire went out at 1:25 p.m. Fillmore Fire Chief Mike Davies said the first crews arriving on the scene found most of the fire in the garage on the north side of the house.

By the time the fire was out, though, the garage and much of the north half of the living quarters were destroyed, with only the outer brick walls standing intact.

Davies said the fire's cause and extent of damage remain under investigation, but the house will likely be a total loss.

In addition to Fillmore, Putnam County departments from Floyd Township, Jefferson Township, Greencastle and Bainbridge provided mutual aid at the scene. Additionally, Mill Creek, Coatesville and Danville departments from Hendricks County assisted.

Operation Life was also on the scene.

With the house's rural location, much of the backup was for water, with 8,000-9,000 gallons used to battle the blaze. However, multiple departments provided manpower.