INDIANAPOLIS — One man died early Saturday morning in a fire in an east-side house where neighbors rescued two children.
At about 3 a.m., two neighbors, who told firefighters they had smelled smoke for about an hour, noticed black smoke down the street in the 600 block of North Chester Avenue, according to a news release from the Indianapolis Fire Department.
The neighbors, who told firefighters they thought the smoke was coming from a bonfire, ran to a house that was on fire. One of them kicked open the locked front door and the other crawled in behind him.
Inside in the front room, they found two children, a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy, standing in the front room near the couch. They brought the children outside. The girl was taken to Riley Hospital for Children in critical condition, while the boy is in serious condition.
The two neighbors were checked at the scene and released.
A third neighbor went around to the back of the house and kicked open a locked door. Firefighters then arrived and entered the rear of the house where they found a 30-year-old man, who was unconscious. He was transported to Eskenazi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The father of the children was found outside the house. IFD said it is not clear if he evacuated the house on his own or if he was helped by the neighbor. He was was transported to Eskenazi Hospital for possible smoke inhalation and is in stable condition.
The fire was brought under control in 15 minutes and the cause is under investigation, according to IFD.
