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Photo courtesy of Veronica Sue Hawkins. (April 15, 2012) |
Police and firefighters are investigating a suspicious fire that happened in New Paris just after 7:15 Saturday night.
The fire ripped through a pair of apartments above the New Paris Pro Hardware & Farm Store.
"Looked out the window and seen fire coming out the backside of the apartment, so I ran over here and went to the front door and saw three people standing down there,” said Dennis Setterberg.
Setterberg was at friend’s house when he saw the flames shooting from the two apartments that sit above the hardware store. He watched as firefighters battled the blaze for hours.
People had been living in both apartments, but nobody was injured in the fire that police are now calling suspicious.
According to a source close to the incident, a man who was living in one of those apartments was threatening to "burn the place down" shortly before the fire started.
The hardware store also suffered some smoke and water damage, mainly to the lawn and garden section directly underneath the apartments, but the owners of the store said the store was open again on Monday.
The owner guesses there was between $60 to $80,000 in damage.
Police say there have been no arrests made in connection to the fire. The state Fire Marshall, New Paris Fire Department and the Elkhart County Sheriff's Department are all investigating.
