Tuesday, March 20th, 2007
Fire destroys apartment
By Margie Wuebker
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard
Charred furniture sets in the yard outside the place Shaun Seibert, 125 N. Enterprise St., Apt. 1, Celina, called home following a Friday night fire. Fire heavily damaged the apartment while an adjoining one sustained smoke damage.
Local firefighters responded to an apartment fire in Celina on Friday night after a passer-by spotted flames and alerted other residents of the 125 N. Enterprise St. complex.
Shaun Seibert, who had been residing at Apt. 1, was next door visiting Mike Marincel when an unidentified person alerted them of the blaze. The 911 call was received at 9:57 p.m.
Seibert reportedly went to the front door and saw flames reflected in the windows of a building across the street.
The blaze apparently started in the living room at the southeast corner of Seibert's apartment. Flames were shooting out the windows when Celina Fire Department arrived on the scene with two trucks and nine firefighters.
Flames were contained inside the concrete block structure, with Lt. Jon Schumm noting a concrete wall between apartments one and two prevented the fire from spreading.
Seibert's living room was destroyed with the remainder of the unit suffering heavy heat and smoke damage. Marincel's apartment sustained smoke damage, and he reportedly spent the weekend elsewhere.
Two other units, including that of building owner Bill Gilbert, were not affected.
"We don't have a definitive cause at this point," Schumm said. "Mr. Seibert had been out of the apartment 30 to 60 minutes before someone spotted the flames."
Schumm did not place a dollar figure on the loss, adding it is ultimately the insurance company which determines that.
Gilbert does have insurance on the building, but it is not known whether Seibert had coverage on his belongings.
Firefighters returned to station at 12:27 a.m. Saturday.
