Fire crews made an aggressive attack on heavy flames at the Eagle Lake Landing apartment complex in Speedway just before 10:30 p.m. Saturday, battling a blaze that tore through an attic and ultimately damaged nine units. Nine families were forced out of their homes, though no injuries were reported.
According to WISH-TV, the fire started in the attic of one apartment before spreading into neighboring units, ultimately causing damage to nine apartments total. The Speedway Fire Department, in a Facebook post with photos from the scene, described crews making an aggressive attack on the fire after it penetrated the fire wall inside the attic, allowing it to spread into other apartment units. The Indianapolis Fire Department and Wayne Township Fire Department assisted Speedway crews with the response, per the department's post.
No Injuries Reported as Nine Families Scramble
Despite the scope of the damage, no injuries were reported from Saturday night's fire, the station's report notes. Nine families had to leave their apartments as a result of the blaze, though the full extent of the structural damage to each unit has not been detailed. An investigation into the cause remains pending, according to the fire department's post.
A Complex With a Painful Fire History
This is not the first time Eagle Lake Landing has been scarred by fire. Back in September 2011, a three-alarm blaze broke out around 6:40 p.m. in the 2000 block of High Eagle Trail at the same complex, according to IBJ. That fire displaced 42 families and left more than 40 of the complex's 62 units with heavy damage. Crews from Indianapolis, Pike Township, Wayne Township, Avon and Speedway spent three hours battling the flames before bringing them under control, IBJ reported.
Accounts of injuries from that 2011 fire differ. IBJ reported that one firefighter and one resident were hurt, while Firehouse reported that only one person suffered minor injuries and that one firefighter sustained a slight injury treated at the scene. Saturday's fire caused far less widespread damage than the 2011 disaster, but it still left nine families without a place to sleep as investigators work to determine what sparked the flames.
