1/4/2008 10:40:00 AM

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire Thursday night on Cleveland Avenue. Elizabeth Hogge/The News-Dispatch

Man Burned In Cleveland Avenue Blaze
Mark Knoff transported to Fort Wayne burn unit Thursday night.

Jason Miller
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - A 50-year-old Cleveland Avenue man was taken to the burn unit at Parkview Memorial Hospital in Fort Wayne on Thursday after his home burned.

The occupant at 3019 Cleveland Ave., Mark Knoff, was pulled out of the home by his neighbor, Chad Odle, according to Michigan City Fire Chief Dave Lamb. Knoff, Lamb said, is paraplegic.

Firefighters didn't have a cause for the fire Thursday night.

"There was quite a bit of flame coming from the back of the house when they got here," Assistant Chief Randy Novak said.

Firefighters were called to the small, white house at 5:38 p.m., as they were clearing the scene of a head-on collision on U.S. 20 near Woodland Avenue, according to MCFD Assistant Chief Chuck Greis.

The La Porte County Sheriff's Department handled the accident, in which two people were injured and an arrest made for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Sheriff's officials, though, had no more information Thursday night.

1/10/2008 10:00:00 AM
Man Heralded For Risking Life, Saving Neighbor
Chad Odle rushed inside burning house to rescue Cleveland Ave. man.

Jason Miller
The News-Dispatch

MICHIGAN CITY - When Chad Odle rounded the corner onto Cleveland Avenue last Thursday evening and saw smoke, he initially thought his house was on fire.

When he realized it was a neighboring home - and the owner was trapped inside - he not only forgot about his house, but his safety as well.

He rushed inside to save the man.

"I opened the door and yelled, and I thought I heard him, but I wasn't sure," Odle, 32, said Wednesday. "I couldn't see inside, the smoke was so thick it was lower than my knees. But I knew there was someone in there who needed help."

Odle rescued 50-year-old Mark Knopf from the fire.

Shortly after the fire, Knopf - who is paralyzed from the waist down - was transported to the burn unit at Parkview Memorial Hospital in Fort Wayne.

Knopf's condition is being kept quiet, but Michigan City Fire Chief Dave Lamb said he was told Knopf lost one of his legs as a result of the fire.

Odle, a father of four, was honored by the Michigan City Fire Department on Tuesday for the rescue.

Chief Dave Lamb presented Odle with a plaque in recognition of his life saving efforts.

On Wednesday, Odle said he first tried to get to Knopf from outside the house, through a bedroom window in the rear of the home. When flames began "erupting" through the window, however, Odle decided to enter the house through the front door.

"At first, the smoke was so thick, I couldn't see anything. But when the flames got bigger, it brightened everything up and I was able to see (Knopf)," Odle said. "He had his dog sitting on his lap in the wheelchair.

"I just grabbed the wheelchair and started pulling."

Odle said he wasn't hurt during the rescue.

"I didn't even realize how hot it was when I got in there," he said.

Odle said he didn't know Knopf personally, but said he'd seen the man "out in the yard, rolling around in his chair and talking to another neighbor." Odle said it didn't matter that he didn't know Knopf.

"When you see someone who's essentially helpless and you know they need help, you help them," he said. "It's a adrenaline. It's almost a high. But the man needed help and I was there to help."

Contact reporter Jason Miller at jmiller@thenewsdispatch.com.