High winds cause barn fire to spread

LAGRANGE COUNTY, Ind. -- It took 57 firefighters several hours to extinguish a fully involved barn fire that spread to nearby buildings in Topeka Monday night into Tuesday morning.

According to the Topeka Fire Department, they were dispatched to 8285 West 600 South Topeka for a fully involved barn fire at 9:03 p.m. Monday.

Fifty-seven firefighters battled high winds that caused the fire to spread to the attic of a shop and the attic of a home.

"We were fighting a losing battle with those winds," said Topeka Police Chief Stewart Bender.

Bender said they knew the winds would be a problem for any fire.

"Kind of had a game plan already, that if something happens, even a simple house fire, it's probably going to take more than a normal response to deal with," said Bender.

Three other barns and another house on the property were undamaged.

The barn was a total loss.

Fire crews were back in service around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The cause of the fire is undetermined.
 

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