Indianapolis fires injure two, displace seven

Provided Photo/Indianapolis Fire Department

By: Michelle Kaufman

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Fire Department says a firefighter and citizen were injured after two separate fires on Saturday.

Around 11:30 a.m., IFD says one man was taken to the hospital in critical condition after a fire on Elder Avenue. IFD says the victim told them he discarded a cigarette into a metal container on his front porch and forgot the container contained gasoline.

The fire displaced four adults and one dog. IFD and IMPD are investigating. Firefighters got the fire under control in 15 minutes.

11:34 AM - a 59 y/o man is in critical condition after heavy fire breaks out in his home on Elder Ave. The man told firefighters that he discarded a cigarette into a metal container on his front porch - forgetting that the container contained gasoline. Transported to Eskenazi pic.twitter.com/0Vz2hOAleP
— Indianapolis Fire Department 🚒 (@IFD_NEWS) March 6, 2022

Around 2 p.m., IFD says witnesses told them a transformer caught a fence on fire in the 5500 block of Straw Hat Drive, leading to "significant damage" for two homes and an RV. One firefighter was slightly injured and may have had heat exhaustion.

No one was home at the time, but three adults are now displaced.

IFD also spent part of Saturday rescuing a 17-year-old from a tree in Holliday Park.