UNION TOWNSHIP | Flames swept through and destroyed the home of Family Express President and CEO Gus Olympidis and his wife, Beth, early Wednesday morning.
When the last firefighters left after eight hours, all that remained of the stately, 15,000-square-foot home near Shorewood Forest was a pile of charred rubble and the exterior brick walls.
The damage is expected to exceed $2 million, fire officials said.
Olympidis and his wife were awakened by smoke detectors at 12:45 a.m. and discovered a fire around the chimney on the north side of the home. Olympidis spent a few minutes trying to extinguish the fire, but it was too large for his fire extinguishers, so he called 911, officials said.
Union Township Assistant Fire Chief Tim Beach said firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke in the home. Firefighters entered, but were forced back by the heat and gases. The freezing temperatures wreaked havoc on firefighting efforts, freezing two fire engines and several hoses.
"It was very frustrating from a command standpoint," Beach said. "That played a major part in this whole incident."
Union Township firefighters, assisted by a dozen fire departments from Porter and Lake counties, finally left about 9 a.m. All that remained of the home -- which is southwest of Valparaiso at 355 W. County Road 200 North in Union Township -- was smoldering debris and the 200,000 gallons of water that turned to ice almost as soon as it was sprayed on the fire.
"We put 100 percent into (fighting) the fire. ... All fire personnel worked well together regardless of the cold weather. And it was cold," Beach said.
Police and fire officials said nobody was injured fighting the fire, and Olympidis, his wife and a dog escaped safely. Porter County police assisted in getting the family's cars and Harley-Davidson motorcycle out of the garage before the fire reached them.
"The (Olympidis) family is doing well. They're glad no one got hurt," Beach said.
Beach said the fire's cause is under investigation, although it won't be determined for days because of the weather and damage. Beach said firefighters were unable to stop the fire at the two-story home because it got into the crawl space and attic around the point of origin, then spread. The insurance company might authorize excavation, and Beach doesn't think there is anything suspicious about the fire.
After fighting the fire, firefighters called Ernie's Shell to bring a flat-bed tow truck to the scene to haul the fire hoses, which were frozen like logs, back to the fire station to thaw out. The Porter County Command Bus was called to the scene to serve as a warming center for firefighters.
Union Township was assisted by firefighters from Boone Grove, Chesterton, Crown Point, Hebron, Morgan Township, Lakes of the Four Seasons, Liberty Township, Merrillville, the town of Porter, South Haven, Valparaiso and Washington Township. The American Red Cross and Porter EMS also responded.
Olympidis, in addition to running the Family Express convenience store chain, is vice chairman of the Regional Development Authority.
