Alan Sneade was counting his blessings and thanking the neighbor who pounded on his door shortly before a fire engulfed the back of his six-unit condominium Monday afternoon.
He escaped with minutes to spare.
“The fire went fast from top to bottom,” Sneade said.
Sneade, who has lived for three years in his Lakes of the Four Seasons home, was being assisted by Red Cross volunteers Tuesday afternoon as firefighters continued to put water on the blackened-out building in the 5000 block of Spinnaker Lane.
He said he had a place to go Tuesday night.
No injuries were reported in the fire and Sneade and a second resident, who occupied another condo unit, were safely evacuated, LOFS Volunteer Fire Chief Kevin Heerema said.
The other four condo units were unoccupied at the time of the fire, and Heerema said two condo owners were out of town, one condo owner wasn’t home, and one condo unit is unoccupied at this time.
Heerema said his department received the call of the fire at 2:30 p.m. and arrived within 10 minutes.
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He said the cause of the fire is unknown and it will most likely be several days before it is known.
“The fire is under investigation,” Heerema said.
Heerema said he couldn’t provide a cost estimate of the damages but that most of the back side of the building, the portion located near Lake Holiday, had been destroyed.
He said the LOFS Volunteer Fire Force, when notified of the fire, called the situation a third alarm, meaning additional sources of water were needed.
Heerema said several departments responded to the scene to assist with his department’s water supplies.
Hydrants located in LOFS are used as flushing hydrants and can’t be used to sustain water supplies to put out a large fire.
Those wanting to assist the families affected can call the Winfield Township Trustee’s Office at 219-663-7027 or email the trustee at [email protected].
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.