Fatal Zionsville fire began in garage, reason remains a mystery

Nov. 24—The investigation into a fatal fire in Zionsville is complete, but its cause will remain undetermined.

Carol Ann Raub, 72, a horse lover and retired nurse, perished in the fire Sept. 14 after calling 911, Boone County Coroner Justin Sparks confirmed. She told a dispatcher the home was very smoky and that a heater started the blaze.

The Zionsville Fire Department investigated alongside the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office, but the cause remains undetermined, Zionsville Fire Chief James VanGorder said Wednesday. Investigators do know it began in the garage at 8480 E. County Road 100 S.

The entire home was engulfed with flames shooting from the roof and most of the windows when firefighters arrived, but they still entered the home in an attempt to rescue Raub.

Burning furnishings and household goods in combination with the smoke and structure fire made searching conditions quite dangerous.

“Under very difficult circumstances, they made multiple attempts at multiple points of the home,” VanGorder said. “They were unsuccessful in finding her before they had to retreat and wait for more firefighters to attack the fire.”

Wrong address

The ZFD didn’t initially carry much water to the fire. The Boone County Communications Center dispatcher who received Raub’s call gave a wrong address four miles south of the fire.

“For whatever reason, our communications officers mistook it for a different address,” Boone County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Mike Beard said in September. “It was human error.”

Boone County Sheriff Tony Harris launched an internal investigation and had a review board make recommendations.

“Discipline was issued, and we’ve taken decisive steps for it not to happen again,” he said.

The initial address given has hydrants nearby, and the the ZFD sent the combination of equipment used when hydrants are available.

But Raub’s rural house was without hydrants. And the department would have sent more tankers, had they known, VanGorder said.

The dispatcher quickly realized the mistake and issued the correct address while most emergency responders were still en route, and ZFD called out its tankers.

Extraordinary challenges

A locked hydraulic gate blocked the private country lane that wound a quarter mile past a pond on its way to the home tucked away on a wooded lot. A police officer said he manhandled the gate until it gave way.

Firefighters then found that trees had grown close together along the narrow lane and formed a picturesque, low-hanging tunnel over it. The first firetruck plowed through branches on its way to the house, which was partly veiled with vegetation.

Firefighters attacked the trees with chainsaws to ease entry for more emergency vehicles and crews, but the big tankers couldn’t get water through.

So emergency responders carried hand lines from the road to the house. There wasn’t enough water to fight the blaze at first, but they drew some from the pond.

Tanker trucks from Sheridan, Lebanon, Lizton, Center Township, Whitestown, Perry Township, Pittsboro, Advance, Union Township and Carmel fire departments hauled in water and parked along the road, waiting their turns to supply hoses and trucks that could get closer.

The vegetation and narrow drive served as “challenges we had not seen before,” VanGorder said. “People in rural areas tend to live on larger tracts and have fences and gates, and the shape and curve of the driveway can affect our response.”

In the coming months, the ZFD administration plans to offer preventive advice for rural homeowners who are interested.