GREENWOOD, Ind. — Two people were injured Wednesday morning when a fire broke out at a Greenwood self-storage business.
Dispatchers received multiple calls around 6 a.m. Jan. 17 about flames coming from County Line Self-Storage, located at 1485 W. County Line Road. When first responders arrived, they reported a storage unit and car both on fire.
It took firefighters about 45 minutes to bring the blaze under control and nearly two hours to extinguish it, a Greenwood Fire Department spokesperson said.
A total of six storage units were damaged, either by fire or when crews forced entry to stop the spread of the flames.
An investigation is underway. A person who rents one of the storage units admitted to paramedics at the scene that he had been living in his unit "off and on" for some time, according to a spokesperson. It's not clear if the man was inside the unit when Wednesday's fire began. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of burns and listed in serious condition.
A firefighter was also injured and was treated and released from a hospital Wednesday.
David Hancock sifted through wet and charred boxes in his unit, hoping to salvage some of his belongings.
"My $2,000 worth of cherry hardwood furniture is gone. I'm hoping with some of the stuff behind me, some of the boxes are really bad, but I'm hoping some of the stuff is good, but if it is, most it is probably going to be smoke damaged, too," Hancock said.
According to the fire department, Hancock's unit was one firefighters had to force open to stop the spread of the blaze. Water and smoke ruined around $5,000 worth of his belongings, including an eight-year-long card project.
"I spent what little money to make that print run on my own, and I was just like, 'Well, I'm never going to get that back,' and so it's very disheartening and depressing," Hancock said.
He also says none of his belongings were insured.
Eric Harrison Sr., who works at Burns Family Insurance, said one should always have an insurance policy in place.
"With insurance, you're paying for the possibility of it happening. It is a possibility it may not happen, yes. Is there a possibility it will happen? Yes," Harrison said. "So, in that situation, you want make sure you're covered because if the things in there are valuable to you, you want to make sure you have them covered."
For those who are in the same situation as Hancock, Harrison suggests looking over your renters or homeowners insurance.
"If you have renters insurance or homeowners insurance, some carriers do offer what's called property of premises insurance, which would cover some of your property off the premises of your home," Harrison said.