South Bend Fire Torches Apartment Site Feet From Minor League Ballpark, No Injuries Reported
A pre-dawn blaze gutted a 92-unit affordable housing project under construction next to Four Winds Field, forcing evacuations but sparing the ballpark.
A massive fire tore through an apartment building under construction in South Bend, Indiana, just after midnight Tuesday, sending flames and thick smoke into the sky feet from the home stadium of the minor league South Bend Cubs before crews managed to keep it from spreading further.
The South Bend Fire Department said it received the first calls at 12:05 a.m. about a blaze at the Stadium Flats development, a project set to add 92 affordable housing units to the city's downtown near Four Winds Field. By the time crews arrived, both the building under construction and a crane on site were engulfed, according to local station WNDU's on-scene reporting. Roughly 24 fire units and more than 55 personnel responded.
"A Total Loss"
Assistant Fire Chief Derek Erquhart said firefighters quickly concluded the construction site itself could not be saved and shifted their focus to protecting nearby structures, including the neighboring Diamond View Apartments, whose residents were evacuated as a precaution. No injuries were reported.
IT COULD TAKE DAYS, MAYBE EVEN WEEKS, BEFORE INVESTIGATORS HAVE AN ANSWER
Erquhart said that timeline applies to determining what sparked the fire, which remains under active investigation. The flames came close enough to Four Winds Field — home of the Cubs' Low-A affiliate — that part of the team's Performance Center training facility sustained damage from heat and smoke, though the ballpark itself escaped largely unscathed.
South Bend Mayor James Mueller called the fire an "unfortunate setback" for the housing project but praised the fire department's rapid response, crediting crews with preventing the blaze from reaching occupied buildings or the stadium complex.
The South Bend Cubs said they still expect their playoff game scheduled for Thursday, September 10, to go ahead as planned at Four Winds Field, with the team's baseball operations unaffected by the fire.
What's next: Fire investigators will need to sift through the collapsed construction site once it's safe to do so, a process officials say could stretch on for weeks before a cause is determined. City officials have not yet said whether or when reconstruction of the Stadium Flats units might resume.