OFF THE WIRE
Blaze at Northside building being investigated as arson, IFD saysA 51-year-old man was in critical but stable condition Friday at Wishard Memorial Hospital, suffering from smoke inhalation from a suspected arson fire at a Northside motorcycle club.
Charles Buford, hometown not immediately available, was staying overnight in sleeping quarters at the Kentucky Gunslingers Club, located on Yandes Street near 23rd Street.
Investigators from the Indianapolis Fire Department and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department are investigating the incident as an arson.
The fire does not appear to be the result of a gxxg rivalry, according to a release from the Indianapolis Fire Department.
IFD received a report of a fire at the one-story, wood-frame club at 5 a.m., said IFD spokeswoman Capt. Rita Burris.
"There are two parts of the building," Burris said. "One part was heavily involved in fire when we got there, and another part was unaffected except for the smoke damage."
Buford was breathing when he was found by firefighters in a makeshift bedroom in the unaffected part of the building, according to the IFD release.
Everyone else had left the club at 2:30 a.m.
There are about 40 members in the 30-year-old motorcycle club, Burris said.
Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the fire, she said. Damage was initially estimated to be about $100,000.
http://www.indystar.com/article/20120519/NEWS02/205190333/Man-hurt-motorcycle-club-fire?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CNews
