Published: December 16, 2008 11:50 pm         

Fire that cost Vermillion family its home under investigation

HILLSDALE — A Vermillion County family lost their home to fire Tuesday morning.

According to a Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department report, the home at 3865 E. County Road 775 South, Hillsdale, owned by John and Shelly Lowrance, burned about 8:17 a.m.

Firefighters from Hillsdale Fire Department responded to the scene and found the structure engulfed in flames. Trouble with water tankers slowed the fight, according to the sheriff’s report, and engines from Montezuma, Dana, Newport, Newport Chemical Depot and Fairview assisted.

The homeowners were reportedly at Union Hospital in Terre Haute at the time of the fire, and their children were in school.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation Tuesday evening and the home was declared a total loss.