YORK TOWNSHIP — Kia Marino didn’t feel well last night and it likely saved her life, and the lives of her mother and two small children.
“I’ve been sick,” Marino said. “So I opened the window to get some fresh air. I was tucking the curtains in and I saw orange flames.”
Her mother’s van was on fire and the flames were spreading quickly to the side of the house. Marino’s 1-year-old son Teagon had just fallen asleep in the bedroom near the van, and her 5–year-old daughter, Nova was getting ready for bed. Marino, her two children, her mother and their dog Mia all escaped unharmed.
Firefighters from the Middlebury Township Fire Department, with the assistance of the Bristol Fire Department, arrived at 12353 Pinecone Drive in the Pine Hills subdivision off of Ind. 120 just before 11 p.m. Thursday evening. Captain Scott Dreamer of the Middlebury Fire Department said the fire was extinguished three hours later.
Dreamer said the home is considered a total loss, with most of roof missing as well as considerable smoke damage throughout the residence.
Middlebury’s fire investigation team, along with State Fire Marshal Rick Constable, began work early Friday morning to determine how the fire began.
Less than two months ago, the fire department responded to three separate fires in the same area of the subdivision.
“We determined that the fires were incendiary — intentionally set,” said Dreamer. “We are asking anyone with information to call the Middlebury Fire Department at 825-1492.”
Marino and her family were able to move in with her brother and father in another part of the subdivision.
Both Marino and her brother aid they couldn’t help but think of the other fires in the neighborhood as they watched the home burn.
Marino said she purchased the home just a year ago and was it insured.
“I really liked this area. It’s so quiet and peaceful back here,” Marino said through tears. “Now I’m just devastated.”
Local News
Related Photos
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Fire crews investigate the scene of a house fire on Ind. 120 near Middlebury Friday morning. JENNIFER MEIER
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