Boy, dad praised for roles in warning about Merrillville apartment fire

A 15-year-old boy and his father are being credited by neighbors for spotting a fire on the roof of their Merrillville apartment building Monday, a day when they were warned there would be fire alarm testing.

Tonda Hayes was taking a shower after 9 a.m. Monday when her son, Marcus, 15, told her the fire alarms were going off and they needed to leave their apartment, G Building at Summerwood Apartments/The Lakes at 8201.

Tonda said she told her son not to be paranoid because the complex had posted letters saying it would be conducting tests of the fire alarm system between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday. Marcus, however, was unconvinced, she said. He went outside, where he spotted the flames on the roof and came back to get her.

"He told me 'We got to get out. The roof is on fire,'" she said. Tonda and Marcus left the building while Anthony Hayes Sr. started pounding on neighbors' doors.

"I was yelling 'Fire! It's a real fire,'" Anthony Hayes Sr. said. "I couldn't believe it."

Flames jutted through the roof of the three-building apartment in the complex at 8201 Polo Club Drive, jumping from one section of the building to another. At least six of the third-floor units appeared gutted by fire. Firefighters were busy trying to put out hot spots and prevent the fire from jumping to another building.

"I thank God we got out safe," Tonda Hayes said.

Property manager Terra Patterson said there were at least 24 units in the building.

Julie Sipek was getting ready for work when Anthony Hayes Sr. came pounding on her door, a move she said helped her avoid harm.

"It's frightening," Sipek said. She and her boyfriend, Michael Barrera, moved into the complex in August. Like Tonda Hayes, she heard the alarms but discounted them because of the note pasted on the building doors regarding the test. Sipek said she would never have expected the fire to occur the day of the test.

"We need to thank (Marcus) for being paranoid," Sipek said.

Both Sipek and Tonda Hayes said they were glad it appeared everyone was able to get out and escape injury.

The building sustained heavy damage. The cause of the blaze is under investigation. The Merrillville Fire Department was unable to comment Monday afternoon.

Lawanda Williams was at work when the complex manager called to report her building was on fire.

"At first I was just thinking alarms. Then she said I need to get here," Williams said.

Like her neighbors, she, too, was shocked by the blaze.

"Nobody was home. That's a good thing," Williams said.

Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.