Elderly couple escapes New Year’s Day house fire in Lebanon
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Lebanon Fire Department believes that a New Year’s Day house fire that forced an elderly couple to flee was started by an electric blanket.
Firefighters were dispatched to a residence at County Road 4005 West 625 South just before 11:30 p.m. Monday. That’s about 10 miles southwest of downtown Lebanon.
Crews arrived to find heavy plumes of smoke coming out of the residence. Fire crews from Lebanon, Lizton, Pittsboro, Jamestown, and Center Township quickly extinguished the fire.
Two older residents inside the house were able to make it outside. They were checked by EMS at the scene and refused further medical treatment, the fire department says.
Lebanon FD said in a press release Tuesday that the fire was confined to a primary bedroom and the cause was likely to be an electric blanket. Fire investigators believe medical oxygen tanks that were in the bedroom probably helped the fire to spread.
Fire units cleared the scene by 1:00 a.m. once the fire was completely suppressed and the investigation was completed. No firefighters were injured.
