Apartment fire ruled an arson results in 3 families displaced and 1 firefighter injured

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Fire Department is investigating a fire that displaced three families and injured a firefighter early Tuesday morning.

That fire on Indy’s northeast side has been ruled an arson.

Investigators believe the fire started when someone intentionally set a car on fire and the blaze then spread to the rest of the building.

Fire crews responded to a call of an apartment fire just before 2:45 a.m. in the 5800 block of Cedarstone Ct.

“I just saw the flames already like everywhere,” said neighbor Miah Owner.

“The whole entire house was engulfed.  You could see flames coming out the windows. I mean the whole entire house was on fire,” said neighbor Madison Cooley.

Within 45 minutes of the fire starting, crews had that fire under control.

A Lawrence firefighter suffered a minor injury and was taken to a hospital for evaluation overnight.

No one who lived in the building suffered serious injuries, but one family does appear to have lost all their possessions.

A family of five., a woman and four children, lived in the unit where this car was parked.

They told firefighters they evacuated as soon as they saw the car on fire and had no idea who caused the fire or why.

The woman works for the post office and is known by many of her neighbors.

She’s actually our mail lady. She’s so sweet. She’s the sweetest lady. It’s a very sad situation, very unfortunate,” said Owner.

“I mean she was a nice lady and she has kids. Why would you do that to someone who has kids?” Cooley said.

Photos courtesy of the Indianapolis Fire Deparment.

In all, two units were damaged by fire and two others suffered smoke damage.15 people, including 12 children, were displaced.

The family who lived where the fire started did not have any insurance and today is the woman’s birthday.

“It’s her birthday and it’s just sad. It’s sad circumstances,” said Cooley.  “It’s kind of heartbreaking because all their stuff is probably ruined at this point.”

No arrests have been made in the case.

Those with additional information on the fire are urged to call the Indiana Arson Hotline at 1-800-382-4628 or Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at (317) 262-8477.

Jesse Wells contributed to this story.

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