Starke County EMS and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department were called to an accident at the intersection 200 E and 100 S. in Knox just before 6:00 p.m. CT Tuesday night. No details were released at the scene, but it appeared that a vehicle hit a utility pole on the south side of the intersection.
More information concerning this accident will be reported at a later time.
Spring fever has hit and everyone has been out cleaning yards and burning unwanted brush and leaves. Firefighters ask that you not burn anything outside on days where the gusty winds are forecast. It’s safer to put off until a calm wind is predicted in order to burn things outside.
Firefighters from the Knox and Bass Lake Fire Departments spent the afternoon fighting a blaze at a home southeast of Knox on County Road 550 East at CR 340 S. Bass Lake Fire Chief Les Jensen says their efforts were hampered by items stacked several feet high inside the home, which made getting to the flames a challenge. He finally had to call in a backhoe to help clear the way for firefighters. Smoke from the blaze was visible from U.S. 35. The homeowner was at home but not in the house when the fire started, according to a neighbor who was passing by, saw the flames and called 911. Jensen says the origin of the fire has not been determined at this time.
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Members from the Hamlet, Washington Township, Knox-Center Township and North Judson-Wayne Township fire departments recently participated in a live fire training in Lakeville.
On Dec. 28, the Mobile Live Fire Training Trailer Unit traveled to Lakeville so the firefighters could train in the mobile flashover training simulator free of charge. Two weeks prior to this training, instructors in Starke County were given instruction in the “train the trainer” program and all went well.
The Knox-Center Township Fire Department recently received a piece of equipment from Starke County Farm Bureau and the Starke County Co-Op. Fire Chief Kenny Pfost said the donation was received thanks to a grant applied for and awarded to the two entities.
“They gave us a grain bin rescue tool,” explained Pfost. “This will assist us if someone is trapped in a grain bin or silo and it can be used for various other things as far as sand or gravel or something like that.”
He explains how the apparatus works.
“This tube slips over the top of the person and as we are moving the material from around them, the tube slides down and it prevents more material from trapping the person further,” said Pfost.
Hamlet firefighters were called to a garage fire in the area of 102 W. Pearl Street in Hamlet around 11:00 a.m. Knox and Koontz Lake Fire Departments were called to assist. At 11:40 a.m., the fire was reportedly under control.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The Knox-Center Township Fire Department is looking to create a committee to research the possibility of lowering the fire rating outside the Knox city limits. Fire Chief Kenny Pfost explains the fire rating procedure.
“ISO – which is Insurance Service Offices – they rate the residents of Knox, as well as throughout the county, at a certain fire class protection,” said Pfost. “For instance, residents in the city of Knox are rated at a Class 6 and residents in the county, or outside of city limits, are Class 9.”
Class One represents the best public protection and Class 10 indicates no recognized protection. Those with Knox addresses who are outside of the city limits were recently notified that their fire rating had gone from a classification of six to a nine. Pfost explains why that happened.
The Knox City Police Department and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department were called to a vehicle fire at Carl Manns’ residence at 503 S. Heaton Street late Tuesday night.
When officials arrived on scene, they found two vehicles on fire. After the fires were extinguished, the State Fire Marshal’s Office was notified and an investigator helped process the evidence. The evidence led the investigator and Knox police officers to the conclusion that the fires were acts of arson.
Last week, Knox City Police officers and members of the fire department were called to a suspicious fire outside of a vacant home next to the residence of Carl Manns. A small amount of siding and a shutter were damaged in that incident, but luckily, the neighbors who called in the incident had the fire out before officials arrived on scene.
Detectives are asking that if you have any information about either incident, call the Knox City Police Department at 772-4122.
The Knox City Police Department and the Knox-Center Township Fire Department were called to a fire at 11:00 p.m. last night at a home across from Advanced Auto Parts on U.S. 35.
The neighbors saw the fire on the side of the vacant home and called the Sheriff’s Department. They reportedly had the fire out by the time officials arrived on scene. The fire caused a minimal amount of damage.
Three fire departments battled a house fire at 200 E. and 500 S. in the Bass Lake area yesterday afternoon.
Firefighters from the Bass Lake, Knox-Center Township and North Judson-Wayne Township Fire Departments responded to the location where a 100-year old structure was fully engulfed in flames before crews arrived on scene. No cause has been released yet. A representative from the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office was scheduled to meet with Bass Lake fire officials to determine a cause of the fire.
Mayor Rick Chambers passed out praise at the Knox City Council meeting this week. Chambers thanked Knox City Police Officer, Chad Dulin, and Knox-Center Township fireman, Wayne Noah, for quick action in saving the life of a child in an accident that occurred Saturday at 200 East and State Road 8. The car went into the ditch and began filling with water. The pair arrived on scene and helped get the child out of the car. The fire department then arrived on the scene and extricated the driver out of the car.
The Mayor also praised the Knox High School Girls basketball team who brought home the first Sectional crown since 1995.
The Knox City Council met this week with newly elected councilman Donald Kring taking the seat of 16-year council veteran Ed Blue.
One of the matters brought before the council at the meeting was a pending lawsuit from Edward Risner, who claims that the city breached a verbal contract when they refused to burn down his house as part of a training exercise. Mayor Rick Chambers told WKVI that Risner believes he had a verbal contract with the fire department to burn his house down, and use the opportunity as a training session.
The Knox-Center Township Fire Department was called to a vehicle fire last night in the Five Star parking lot.
Fire Chief, Kenny Pfost, said that when they arrived at the scene, flames were coming from the engine compartment. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the engine area. No foul play is suspected.
Photo provided.
Held at the Knox Community Center, the affair celebrated the first 100 years for the fire department that dates back to the time of Henry Schricker.
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An arson incident is being investigated in Knox.
Knox-Center Township Fire Department firefighters were called to a garage fire at 0020 N. 500 E. in Knox on Thursday, November 22nd. Firefighters discovered a fire along the back wall of the garage and it was quickly extinguished. The fire was ruled electrical/accidental. Firefighters were called to the same residence the next day and extinguished another fire that was located on the back wall of the garage near the location of the previous fire.
Santa Claus arrived right on time yesterday afternoon for the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the Starke County Courthouse. Accompanied by several beautiful young ladies from the recent Miss South Bend/Kankakee Valley pageant, Santa came in on a Knox-Center Township Fire Department fire truck.
On the count of three, Mayor Rick Chambers flipped the switch on the Christmas tree and proclaimed the Christmas season’s beginning.
The Knox Christmas tree lighting ceremony is Sunday, November 27th.
Prior to the tree lighting, the firefighters from the Knox-Center Township Fire Department will parade its fleet of trucks on Main Street at approximately 4:30 p.m. The parade will end at the Starke County Courthouse in the downtown area. The firemen will be delivering Santa Claus to the tree lighting ceremony that will begin at 5:00 p.m. on the Courthouse Square.
The Starke County Choralaires will be singing Christmas carols during the event. Immediately following the tree lighting ceremony, Santa will make his way to the Knox Community Center where he will hear what children want for Christmas. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served.
The Knox Christmas tree lighting ceremony is on Sunday, November 27th.
Prior to the tree lighting, the Knox-Center Township Fire Department will be sponsoring a Christmas Parade. The fire trucks will leave the South Side Fire Station at approximately 4:30 p.m. and travel north on Main Street to the Starke County Courthouse in the downtown area. The firemen will be delivering Santa Claus to the tree lighting ceremony on the Courthouse Square at 5:00 p.m.
Starke County emergency personnel were called to a three vehicle accident at the intersection of State Road 8 and U.S. 35 Saturday.
Marilyn Stellingwerf, 83, of Demotte, was at the intersection when she pulled onto U.S. 35 and into the path of a vehicle driven by Vaid Robinson, 74, of Hamlet. Robinson hit the passenger side of Stellingwerf’s vehicle, causing it to spin into the southbound lane of U.S. 35. Robinson’s vehicle was struck by a southbound vehicle driven by Brandon Brammer, 27, of Knox.
A fire consumed the home of Elizabeth Sallee at 1520 E. 100 S. in Knox last night.
When firefighters arrived at the home shortly before 10:00 p.m. last night, the fire was fully engulfed at the east end of the home. High winds caused the fire to spread quickly throughout the structure and soon it was fully engulfed. Elizabeth Sallee was not home at the time of the fire, but her daughter and two-year-old son escaped the home without injury.
