The Michigan City Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a structure fire at 1:46 AM on Thursday. The call came in as a confirmed fire in the 200 block of East 8th Street. Engine Company #1 located at 10th & Ohio was the first to arrive on scene. Upon arrival they found a three bay detached garage fully engulfed with flames along with a utility pole east of the structure on fire as well. It was reported that the fire had destroyed most of the structure prior to arrival. Engine Companies #2 & #4 responded as well and assisted in deploying deluge guns to bring the fire under control. The structure was determined to be not safe to enter and it was best to use the deluge water supply to bring the fire under control.
The cause of fire at this time is unknown and remains under investigation. The on scene investigation was able to rule out any electrical malfunction as the cause since there was no active utilities to the structure. Nearby residents were notified of the fire as the fire department battled the fire. No injuries were reported and the garage had a small amount of building materials being stored inside and the only vehicle was outside the structure. According to the fire department, Comcast did have a fiber optics line attached to the utility pole that was on fire and it melted the fiber line. Area residents were without Comcast until late Thursday morning as Comcast quickly repaired the line.