Fatal Mobile Home Fire
10/04/2005
One person died and a second was injured in a mobile home fire at 9:42 p.m. Tuesday at Edgewood Estates mobile home park, 5330 Goshen Road.
Firefighters from six departments arrived to find the home engulfed in flames, an Allen County Sheriff's Department report said. Washington Township, St. Joe Township, Southwest Fire District, Churubusco Fire, Huntertown Fire and Arcola fire departments were at the scene. More...
Charter Oak Church Fire
11/15/2005
Tuesday night at approximately 7:30 p.m. thunderstorms moved through the area and the Churubusco / Smith Twp. Fire Department was dispatched to a lightning strike with possible flames visible at the Charter Oak Church.
Firefighter Darrell Resler arrived and found flames venting through the east end of the building fanned by strong winds out of the west. He immediately coded it a 704 working structure fire. More...
Propane Explosion
12/04/2005
"It was like dynamite - the whole barn moved," said neighbor Dulana Blanscett, as she described the second of two explosions that wracked a storage barn Friday afternoon.
Blanscett heard the first blast approximately 3:30 p.m., then called 911 to alert the Churubusco / Smith Township Fire Department. She then witnessed the second explosion rock the structure and the huge flames that followed. More...
Fire Destroys Home
12/10/2005
An early morning fire destroyed a home in the 400 block of South Main Street. Two residents asleep inside were unaware of the fire until a neighor alerted them to the emergency.
Fire crews first arrived to find heavy smoke and flames pushing out the front door of the residence. Their efforts were hampered by multiple ceilings and rooflines. More...
2005 drought comes to an end
07/12/2005
The drought of 2005 came to an abrupt halt Friday evening when 5 inches of rain came down in a matter of a few hours, leaving roads and basements flooded. This created serious problems for residents and the Churubusco / Smith Twp. Fire Department was called to several incidents.
A report of a lightning strike on North Mulberry Street at the women's group home started the chaos and luckily no damage or fire occurred at this incident. Immediately after clearing this incident the fire department reseponded to a report of a fire alarm at the Smith-Green Community Schools. Yet again, another false alarm. These two facilities were very lucky, but unfortunately the Sheets & Childs Funeral Home wasn't so lucky.
As firefighters returned from the first two alarms, they noticed the roof had collapsed on the funeral home. The building's drainage system couldn't drain the water fast enough and the weight of the water caused the collapse. No one was injured or inside the collapsed structure when it occurred.
The downpour continued and fire personnel were being called to assist stranded motorists, flooded basements and flooded homes with sand-bagging. Even the fire station received enough water damage and flood waters to keep firefighters busy in their own station.
Ironically, the town itself received approximately five inches of rain, while citizens whom only live 2 miles from town received less than an inch.