Triple H fire ruled accidential

The cause of the Triple H Gun Club and The Grill on the Hill fire last week has been ruled accidental.

According to Linton Fire Department Chief Gary Tannehill, the Indiana State Fire Marshal's office has determined that a golf cart battery -- possibly a charger -- is what started the blaze that destroyed the building, owned by John and Ronda Hert.

"(Inspector Greg Gourlard) came down the morning of the fire ... he came down while we were still there," Tannehill said Tuesday afternoon. "We were still on the scene, and he did what he needed to do while we were still there. Then he went back to our station and got what else he needed."

The building was reported on fire by a passer-by at 3 a.m. on Friday. Firemen remained on the scene until about 10:30 a.m.

According to a spokesperson from the State Fire Marshal's office, "(The fire) started in the small building off to the side. A golf cart was in there," the spokesperson said.

The Triple H Gun Club and The Grill on the Hill is located two miles south of Linton on State Road 59.

"(The fire) had to be going good before we even got there. The shed connected to it, where the battery charger was, (the fire) was through the dining area when we got there," Tannehill explained.

"It was just getting ready to go into the room where they keep the ammunition and guns, so we started putting water on it. When the ammunition started going off, we backed off because of safety issues."

Once the ammunition stopped going off, "we got a backhoe in there and pulled some of the tin out to get to the hot spots," Tannehill said.

Tannehill added that his department's dump tank was within 45 feet of the fire, and when firemen took it down when the fire was out, they found shell primers in the water tank.