Apartment fire displaces 35 residents

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A Saturday afternoon apartment fire has left 35 people without a home.

According to the Indianapolis Fire Department, crews responded to a call of a fire at an apartment at the Pangea Field Apartments located in the 3300 block of Alton Avenue at approximately 1:15 p.m.

After arriving on scene, fire crews were faced with a large volume of fire. Crews then began working to put out the flames, getting it under control within an hour.  However, it took another hour to extinguish the hot spots.

IFD says a 73-year-old female told them that she had just finished cook on the stove and believes that she forgot to turn off the burner. When the smoke alarms began sounding, she returned to the kitchen to find it on fire.

All eight units, seven of which are occupied, sustained damage from either fire, smoke or water. By the time crews had arrived on scene, all occupants in the building had evacuated.

The 73-year-old was taken to Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital to be checked out for possible smoke inhalation. No other injuries were reported.

IFD Victims Assistance is working with Pangea Fields Apartment management to find shelter for those displaced.

Damage has been estimated at $400,000.

While the 73-year-old female told fire officials she believes the grease fire is to blame, the cause remains under investigation.