Police continue investigation of fatal Gary fire
Three found dead; neighbors describe hearing explosion
Authorities continue to investigate what caused a fire Friday morning inside a home in Gary’s Midtown section, where three people were found dead.
The Lake County Coroner’s office has identified one of the victims as Dwayne Jones, 33, who lived in the home.
Firefighters with the Gary Fire Department initially responded around 11:15 a.m. Friday and found a one-and-a-half-story Cape Cod house in the 3500 block of West 20th Avenue on fire.
Authorities have said multiple members of a family are believed to have lived in the home, but the coroner’s office has yet to release the identities of the other victims.
The fire ravaged the home and scorched the vinyl siding on a neighbor’s house. On Saturday, a neighbor recalled hearing an explosion Friday morning and then seeing flames cross the upper level of the home.
April Metcalf said she saw the flames sweep across the home’s second floor after she heard “a bang.” Numerous neighbors said several people lived in the house.
Metcalf said when firefighters arrived, one of them kicked in the door and yelled to see if anyone was inside. Authorities have said around four children, who lived in the home, were gone and attending daycare or school at the time of the fire.
“They always had a lot of people coming over — a lot of traffic,” said Metcalf, who’s lived in her home about three years.
Another neighbor, Emily Gulley, said she came home shortly after noon and found her street sealed off by emergency personnel.
She said didn’t speak to the people who lived in the neighboring home, but said they typically had many visitors.
As for the ongoing investigation, members of the ATF and the Indiana State Fire Marshal recently joined the team of investigators with Gary fire and police departments, authorities said.
The ATF will be the lead investigative agency because the agency can bring sniffer dogs and more resources to determine how the blaze started, said Gary police Cm dr. Jack Hamady.