A fire destroyed a west-side Muncie apartment building Tuesday afternoon causing firefighters to use almost all available tanker trucks in the county to transfer water to the site.
About five people were in the two-story building at Colonial Crest Aparments, 405 S. Morrison Road, when the blaze began around 2 p.m. No one was injured.
The building had 12 units--eight apartments and four town houses, residents and apartment management said.
"We got everybody out, most of the animals are out--all but one cat," said Melissa Hawkins, a book keeper for the apartment complex.
Hawkins said no students lived in the building destroyed by fire, but some do live in the complex.
The cause of the fire had not been determined at presstime.
Firefighters had to use tanker trucks from around the county to fight the flames because the nearest water supply was more than a half mile away from the building at Morrison Road and Peach Tree Lane.
All trucks were transporting water to the scene except for the Cowan and Albany tankers, which were on call, Tommy Crawford, Muncie Fire Department battalion chief said.
"It's mutual aid," Muncie Mayor Dan Canan said. "If one fire department needs help, the others come out."
The first truck on the scene ran out of water in a matter of minutes, Crawford said.
"There's no question that it would benefit everyone to have fire hydrants back here," Crawford said.
The fire lasted more than two hours, and firefighters continued to watch the burned remains into the night.
Crawford said he thinks the fire began near the center of the second floor. A hole 25 feet in diameter had formed and flames were shooting up to 75 feet in the air when firefighters arrived.
The fire was contained to building number 20 of the 30-building complex, firefighters said. No other buildings were in danger.
Besides dangers from smoke and heat, firefighters also faced frigid weather and live ammunition that was in one of the apartments.
"We have a lot of slick surfaces we have to deal with out here," Crawford said.
A Muncie police officer who lived in the building told firefighters he had weapons and ammunition in his apartment. Crawford said firefighters took the officer in and retrieved the weapons but could not take out the ammunition.
The ammunition did not cause any known difficulties in fighting the fire, Crawford said.
Residents also faced the cold weather when they escaped from the burning building. One resident rushed out barefoot and was standing in the snow when a resident from another apartment building offered her a pair of shoes and a coat.
"I wish she would have taken my coat," said Holly Beckett, a senior psychology major at Ball State.
Hawkins said Colonial Crest residents were not the only ones offering assistance to those left homeless. Other apartment complexes in Muncie called Colonial Crest offering help.
The American Red Cross also arrived on the scene.
The last major fire at Colonial Crest Apartments happened in 1989, firefighters said. It destroyed a building similar to Tuesday's blaze.
"This is deja vu," one firefighter said.
Muncie firefighters also responded to a call of flames shooting from the roof of the China Buffet on N. Wheeling Avenue Tuesday night.
A stove caught on fire during cooking and flames spread through the ventilation system, firefighters said. The flames came out of a part of the ventilation on top of the roof. Firefighters had the flames under control shortly after arriving at the scene.
The fire caused about $40,000 in damage to the restaurant, firefighters estimated. Restaurant workers would not comment about the incident.
Senior Chief Reporter Robert Lopez contributed to this report
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