06/04/12 Building near firm burns (By Emilie Bauer)

A fire burned down nearly half of a building near Magic Pallet Sunday afternoon.

Crews from Wea, Shadeland, Randolph, and Clarks Hill Volunteer Fire Departments responded to a fire at 328 Indian Bead Road off of U.S. 231 about 3:37 p.m. Sunday.

Wea Fire reached the scene first. Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department, Tippecanoe Emergency Ambulance Service, Tippecanoe Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross also assisted.

According to Deputy Jacob Amberger with the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department, a building behind Magic Pallet, a wood pallet company, caught fire, but left the building which houses the business untouched.

The building behind the business caught fire when some employees of Magic Pallet burned scraps of lumber and trash. Wind caught the fire and carried embers through an open door in the building.

"They were inattentive for only a short time, but it was more than enough for the fire to get out of control," said Kenneth Croy, firefighter and public information officer with Wea Fire Department.

Croy noted that burning natural wood products is a common practice among construction and lumber companies like Magic Pallet. However, the burning at Magic Pallet also contained trash, which is not permitted as part of controlled burns.

No one was in the building when it caught fire and no bystanders were injured. Two firefighters, one from Wea and one from Shadeland, were taken to Home Hospital. Their conditions were not known late Sunday night.

Croy said nearly half the building was destroyed by the fire. The building, owned by Matthew Sutter, was uninsured. The majority of the damage was to the building, which contained mostly trash and scrap lumber.