BY DARRYL SMITH

A fire broke out Tuesday, July 16, afternoon at the American Veterans (AMVETS) Post 2000 on West Airport Rd. The fire burned for nearly three hours and required the effort of at least six fire departments to extinguish. Both of the AMVET buildings were at times engulfed in flames during the struggle.

As concrete statues of soldiers looked on and American flags waved  in the breeze, firefighters worked through the afternoon heat fighting the blaze. Ambulances served as cooling rooms for firefighters while emergency medical technicians passed out bottles of cold water. Four firefighters were transported to Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital for treatment for heat exhaustion. The AMVETS Post was mostly destroyed by the fire.