Fire starts at South Bend fire station causing damage

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Several neighboring South Bend fire stations were dispatched to the South Bend Fire Station #4 early Wednesday morning.

A fire broke out around 12:30 a.m. at the station located in the 200 block of North Olive Street inside one of their fire engines.

Investigators say one of the paramedics heard a popping sound coming from the garage and went to investigate. That's when they found the fire inside the fire engine.

“South Bend Fire paramedics were doing some reporting here at fire station number four, and while they were doing their reporting in an adjoining office, they heard some type of disturbance or noise out on the apparatus floor. They went to go investigate and they discovered that Engine Company 4, the fire engine at this station was on fire," said Mark Catanzarite, South Bend Fire Battalion Chief.

Fire crews say the flames were put out within minutes but still caused extensive damage to the cabin area.

They say smoke filled the garage and possibly the firefighters' sleeping quarters. Firefighters were told not to sleep there overnight and were sent to other locations.

“We’re going to disperse our crews tonight and make sure the station gets cleaned properly before they inhabit the station tomorrow. We can expect them to get this done within a day. There was little smoke damage to the living quarters of the station. The majority of the smoke from the fire was contained to the fire engine itself out on the apparatus floor," said Chief Catanzarite.

No one was hurt.

Investigators are continuing to look for what caused the fire and say most of the equipment can be replaced.