(Photo Courtesy of the Porter County Museum)
Residents near where the fire occurred to the two-story brick building, at Lincolnway and Michigan, say they awoke to the distinct smell of burnt wood, and one of those residents including Mayor Jon Costas, who says he could smell the smoke when he got into his car this morning. Our own Jay Stevens spoke with the son of the building's owner, Duwayne Dermaylen, at the scene, who stated he received a phone call about 1:45 this morning about the fire at the building, which was built back in 1905, and was one of the first commercial building's in Valparaiso.