Fire destroys home southwest of Roachdale

Monday, March 23, 2015
Roachdale firefighters battle a house fire on Meridian Line Road in Franklin Township early Monday morning. Dispatched to the fire shortly after 11:30 p.m. Sunday, firefighters remained at the house until around 5 a.m. Six local fire departments, two police departments, an Operation Life ambulance and the American Red Cross were all on the scene at some point. (Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN)

ROACHDALE -- Dozens of local emergency personnel helped battle a blaze at a rural Roachdale home late Sunday night and early Monday morning.

Already fully involved upon arrival of the first firefighters, the house at 9480 N. Meridian Line Rd. was destroyed by the fire.

The call went out to the Roachdale Fire Department at 11:34 p.m. on Sunday.

Fire Chief Mike Poole, who lives a couple of miles away, said he could see the flames from his house after receiving the call.

Arriving within three minutes of the call, Poole found flames already through the roof.

Scott Parrish, who had been renting the home, told investigators he had put wood in the fireplace before heading to bed.

Around 11:30 p.m., the family awoke to the sound of smoke detectors. As they exited the house, flames were showing right above the fireplace insert.

Fire quickly spread throughout the house, as five other departments were called to the scene to assist.

Poole said there were false ceilings in the house, which allowed the fire to spread through the attic more quickly, heavily damaging all parts of the home.

Joining Roachdale on the scene were firefighters from Bainbridge, Clinton Township, Russellville, Floyd Township and Greencastle, providing plenty of water for the effort with their tanker trucks.

A Roachdale Fire Department officer (right) pulls guttering off the side of a burning home on Meridian Line Road early Monday morning as fellow firefighters attempt to douse the flames. Six departments responded to the call that destroyed the Franklin Township home. (Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN)

Poole said the department was assisted in fighting the fire by hydrants in rural Franklin Township that are actually a credit to the Town of Bainbridge.

The town's well field is actually up near Raccoon in northern Franklin Township. With the water lines running the several miles to Bainbridge, a number of hydrants were placed along the route.

"That's the first time I think we've used those and it really helped," Poole said. "We only had to drive two miles instead of seven Miles to Roachdale or Bainbridge."

Other emergency personnel at the scene included Operation Life, Roachdale Police and the Putnam County Sheriff's Department.

The family of three got out safely and no firefighters were injured.

The American Red Cross also responded for any needs the family might have.

Additionally, Christy Menke of Hope Haven Horse Farm is accepting donations for the family. The family's older daughter Nikita Leatherwood, who moved out several months ago, is a Hope Haven employee. Additionally, mother Julie Parrish and younger sister Cheyenne have given many volunteer hours to the farm.

Menke is hoping to give back by helping the family at this time. She can be reached at cmenke@hopehavenhorsefarm.com.

For more information on the family's specific needs, visit the Parrish/Leatherwood family Facebook page.

The house was a complete loss, with Poole estimating $140,000 in damage.

Firefighters cleared the scene around 5 a.m.

Comments
View 4 comments
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • My heart goes out to this family in this tough time, but so grateful that no one was hurt. Please keep us posted as to what this family might need as I have some items to donate if only I know who to contact.

    -- Posted by kamare on Mon, Mar 23, 2015, at 8:25 AM
  • Thank you for your kindness to this family. The daughter is an employee with me and her family has put in many volunteer hours at the farm. Hope Haven will be a site where things can be dropped off for the family if need to and my contact is below. We are trying to get a wish list going for the family at this time.

    cmenke@hopehavenhorsefarm.com

    Thank you again, this kind of loss is difficult.

    -- Posted by cmenke02 on Mon, Mar 23, 2015, at 10:56 AM
  • Thank goodness for working smoke detectors!!

    -- Posted by Falcon9 on Tue, Mar 24, 2015, at 4:08 PM
  • House fires kill and injure thousands yearly. Statistics show that every year there are a high number of chimney fires due to poor maintenance of chimney. Chimney fires can be easily avoided by taking a few simple precautions. Regular inspection can avoid such situation. For best services always choose professional chimney experts, to perform these services. For more detailed data visit http://www.chimneygenie.com over the web.

    -- Posted by SamanthaCarey on Mon, Oct 24, 2016, at 8:33 AM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: