The Highland Fire Department on Wednesday continued to investigate a garage fire that killed a young woman Tuesday afternoon, but no cause has been determined so far.
Representatives from the Indiana Fire Marshal’s office, along with representatives from the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division, were on hand to sift through the remains of the garage in the 9300 block of O’Day Drive, Fire Chief Bill Timmer said. Sara Smith, 21, of Highland, died as a result of the fire.
There’s “nothing blatant” about what happened to cause the fire so far, however, Timmer said, and the ATF’s presence in the investigation is “standard.”
“So far, there’s nothing to indicate a bigger issue, but we have a pretty good team here investigating,” Timmer said.
Timmer said the fire was “pretty significant” when firefighters arrived at the blaze Tuesday afternoon, and the Munster, Griffith and Lake Ridge departments were called in to assist.
Smith had been pulled out of the structure and into the front yard by bystanders by time firefighters arrived, he said. No one else was at home at the time.
Paramedics worked on reviving her for about 20 minutes before she was pronounced dead, according to a Lake County Coroner’s Office report. She was later taken Methodist Hospital’s Northlake campus in Gary.
Smith’s manner of death is pending, according to the coroner’s report.
The garage suffered the brunt of the damage, Timmer said; the house to which the garage belonged as well as houses on either side also experienced some exposure to the fire, mainly damage to vinyl siding.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
