INDIANAPOLIS — A man died in a house fire Saturday morning on the northeast side of Indianapolis.
Firefighters were called to the house on Timberline Drive, near 82nd Street and Fall Creek Road, just before 6 a.m. and found heavy fire and smoke when they arrived.
The woman who owned the home was able to escape. Her adult son was still inside, along with several animals, who did not survive. An orange cat is unaccounted for, according to a family friend.
Fire crews from Indianapolis and Lawrence dealt with an extensive collection of family artifacts inside the house while battling the fire.
They eventually located the 50-year-old man inside approximately 30 minutes after they arrived.
"She told me her son and her animals were still in the house, so I just called the fire department," Chelsea Carter said.
She recounted the frightening moments when she woke up to find her next-door neighbor in distress.
"My bedroom window was open, and I heard somebody screaming for help repeatedly. I walked up here, the entire garage was already ablaze. It was already well started," Carter said.
Investigators believe the fire started in the garage and spread through the attic.
'We're really close with the homeowner, Miss Suzie, so I'm freaking out like, 'Is she OK?' For her to be so sweet and kind for as long as she has been, it's just tragic," Carter said.
Carter said Miss Suzie has lived in this neighborhood for over two decades.
"My little brother calls her Aunt Suzie. She would come over to the house and sit with us for hours. We would go sit with her. It's so sad to see this happen," Carter said.
Now, the neighborhood is chipping in to help as she moves forward.
"We're really just kind of supporting her," Carter said. "Everyone just coming around and help her as much as we can right now and shower her with love and prayer. That's all we can do."
This is the eighth fire fatality in the IFD service district this year.
The house had working smoke alarms, IFD said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.