Michael Auslen

Michael.Auslen@Indystar.com

The Indianapolis Fire Department battled three blazes early Tuesday morning, including one that displaced seven people in neighboring homes.

Johnny Walker, 44, was asleep in his home on the Eastside when two space heaters set fire to his home and the ones on either side, according to IFD.

Walker, who had lived in the duplex on Tacoma Avenue for three years, was awakened by his Shitzu-poodle mix, Bogey, who had been barking, he told firefighters. He ran out, through the smoke, and woke up his neighbors, whose homes were also on fire.

He and six neighbors, including two children, were evacuated and are OK, as are four pit bulls owned by Walker's neighbors. Bogey, however, did not survive.

About 40 firefighters were dispatched around 12:30 a.m., and the fire was under control by 1:15 a.m. IFD Batallion Chief Joe Krebsbach estimated that the homes sustained about $110,000 in damages.

The Red Cross and IFD are working to find shelter for all seven residents, as well as Jaylene Turner, who lives with Walker but was not home at the time.

Additionally, IFD responded to an attic fire on North Edmonson Avenue on the Northeastside and a fire in a home on Tulip Drive on the Far Southside. According to IFD, four adults, three children and four dogs were evacuated safely between the two blazes.