Deputies move burning car to save home

Elizabethtown, IN — In the early morning hours of Tuesday, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies Sergeant Andrew Dougan and Sergeant Jarod Aspenson responded to Brush Creek Drive in reference to a reported vehicle fire.

On arrival, deputies located a truck burning just a few feet from a residence. When attempts to extinguish the fire with fire extinguishers were unsuccessful, Sergeant Dougan used his assigned truck, with a tow strap, to pull the burning vehicle away from the residence so flames would not spread to the house.

Columbus Township Fire Department and Elizabethtown Fire Department arrived on the scene and quickly extinguished the blazing truck saving most of the personal items inside.

This is not the first time that Sergeant Dougan has had to fight a fire while on-duty according to Sheriff Matt Myers: in November 2018, Sergeant Dougan, along with Deputy Robert Cooper, crawled through heavy smoke to save a man from his burning home. Deputies Dougan and Cooper were presented Awards of Valor by Indiana State Fire Marshal James Gregson for their heroic efforts from that fire.