The 911 call stated that a woman was trapped inside a burning house and when Liberty Township firefighters arrived, the small structure was fully engulfed in flames at the corner of Pearson Road and County Road 1100 N. early Friday morning.

A man, believed to be the resident, was standing outside the burning house he escaped.

Liberty Township firefighters had to wait until the fire was knocked down before they recovered a woman’s body in the middle of the house, said Liberty Township Assistant Fire Chief Michael Wineland.

“All the doorways, all the walls, there was nothing left,” Wineland said.

The man was conscious and talking when he was initially taken to Northwest Health in Porter. However, his condition quickly deteriorated and he was transported in critical condition to an Indianapolis hospital, Wineland said

Identities of the man and woman weren’t being released because relatives needed to be contacted, Wineland said.

Wineland said that his crew had to contend with more than the fire.

“The fire had a big start. There was a wind out of the west that was whipping across the Brassie Golf Course,” Wineland said. He estimated that the winds were gusting at more than 30 mph, making the fire spread “twice as fast.”

As firefighters arrived, the front porch and roof collapsed, Wineland said.

Wineland said he doesn’t know if a man who lived at the house or a neighbor who first called 911 to report the fire at 5:11 a.m.

The State Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the fire’s cause.

The one-bedroom house at 1099 Pearson Road was only 680 square feet. The garage was 528 square feet.

Chesterton Fire provided mutual aid to the house, which is on the border of Chesterton, said Assistant Fire Chief Brandon Smith. The Porter County Sheriff’s Department also assisted.

Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/20/woman-burning-home-dies-man-injured/