OWENSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) — An Owensville funeral home was destroyed after a fire early Sunday morning.
Firefighters were sent to Holder Funeral Home on South Main Street around 12:30.
Our crew on the scene said Main Street and Walnut Street were shut down while firefighters worked to put out the fire. Several fire departments were sent to the scene.
According to a statement posted on the funeral home’s Facebook page, they said no one was hurt and no bodies were affected.
Crews were at the scene later in the day demolishing what was left of the building.
Nathan Morris is the current owner of the funeral home and said he was asleep at the time of the fire.
“I woke up and I had 39 missed calls,” said Morris. “I drove to bear witness to multiple agencies working together to get the fire out.”
He said they are meeting with an architect next week and will start the rebuilding process as soon as possible.
“We will get those drawings finalized and quickly begin rebuilding,” said Morris.
Morris said it appears the fire started on the second floor in one of the offices. He believes it was an electrical fire but is still waiting on the official cause from investigators.
We’re told the building has a long history, first built in the 1850s as a hotel.
Randy and Barbara Dike owned the funeral home from 1991 to 2017. As the building burned, they reflected on the memories.
“It was pretty somber. There was just lots of flames and lots of debris and just lots of memories. Just pretty devastating,” said Barbara Dike. “And it was a ministry. It really was. I didn’t look at it as a job and to this day I miss the interaction with the people.”
“It is just heartbreaking, devastating. I have lived in this community almost all my life,” said Owensville resident Janet Smith. “My mother’s funeral was here, my uncle’s funeral was here, my brother. They’re just very consoling and helpful.”
