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...