Shortly before 2 a.m. a passerby on SR 44 west of Glenwood observed a house fire and told the Rush County dispatcher that a home in the 4900 block of East SR 44 was fully engulfed in fire, with flames coming through the roof of the structure.

Rush County deputy sheriff Terry Drake was the first to arrive at the scene and as he approached he informed other responding units that the fire was visible from the Orange Pike.

A short time later, Glenwood Volunteer Fire Department personnel arrived and immediately requested mutual aid from nearby departments including the Rushville Fire Department’s ladder truck.

As a result of fire, smoke and intense heat, Drake was unable to enter the residence.

The deputy noticed multiple vehicles at the home, escalating the possibility that someone was still inside the burning building.

During the early stages of battling the fire it was believed that Archie and Beverly Rohr were the tenants at 4901 East SR 44, although officers were unable to confirm their whereabouts as firefighters battled the multi-alarm fire into the early morning hours Monday.

Shortly after 6 a.m. the State Fire Marshall’s office was notified and a state fire marshall was on the scene Monday morning to investigate the fire.

It was learned early Monday that the Rohrs were not home at the time of the fire.

“We have confirmed that there was no one home at the time of the fire. However, we still have not located the tenants and as far as I know they do not know of the fire at this time,” Drake said Monday morning.

Due to a road repair project on SR 44 east of Rushville, responders were required to take a detour to arrive at the residence and when refilling tanker trucks with water.

A broken water line in Glenwood forced firefighters to return to Rushville for additional water when battling the blaze.

Assisting at the scene were units from the GVFD, Rushville Township Volunteer department, Raleigh Fire Department, Bentonville Fire Department, RFD, Rushville Police Department, RCSD and the American Red Cross.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Read more on this story as information is made available.