Ron Wilkins / Darrell Smith

Journal & Courier / Connersville News Examiner

Chase Woodall fought intense heat and smoke to get to 22-year-old Cody Day, who was one of five friends staying overnight Wednesday with Woodall and a roommate in their West Lafayette apartment.

But Woodall couldn't reach his friend. When West Lafayette firefighters combed through the charred rubble at the south end of Riverbend Apartments Thursday morning, they found Day's body.

Woodall was rushed to St. Elizabeth East hospital, West Lafayette Fire Chief Tim Heath said.

"He did some damage to his lungs," Chase's father, Rob Woodall, told the Connersville News Examiner on Friday from Eskenazi Health Hospital in Indianapolis. "They have him on a breathing machine, and it looks like he will be on it a few days. They will keep him sedated because he's uncomfortable with the air tube."

The elder Woodall said his son also suffered minor burns to his face and chest.

Chase Woodall and Brandon Burgdoerfer, both Purdue University students from Connersville, were hosting five others, including Day, Wednesday night and Thursday morning before the fire. Burgdoefer's grandfather, Henry Orschell, told the News Examiner that his grandson was not injured and is ready to return to Purdue for final exams, which begin May 5.

Day, a Connersville High School graduate, was not enrolled at Purdue, according to Purdue records.

Since arriving at Eskenazi, Woodall has communicated through writing on a pad. Rob Woodall said between his grandson's writings and talking with Burgdoerfer, it appears that someone jogging by or on the way to ROTC saw the fire and started waking residents.

Woodall and Burgdoerfer's door was unlocked, and they were awakened. The boys got outside and took roll, which is when they noticed that Day was not there. Woodall headed back into the apartment to look for Day, and the other five men began waking apartment complex residents, according to Rob Woodall.

"All these boys (who survived) are incredibly lucky because the fire happened so fast," Rob Woodall said. "Once he went back in, it was an impossibility. Without that other boy going through the apartments (and waking everyone), it would have been more tragic than it is."

Heath confirmed that Chase Woodall was the man taken from the fire scene to St. Elizabeth East. From there, he was transported to Eskenazi Health, the former Wishard Hospital in Indianapolis, a spokeswoman for St. Elizabeth spokeswoman said. Woodall is listed in serious condition, an Eskenazi spokeswoman said Friday afternoon.

"With Chase, we're hoping and praying for the best," Rob Woodall said. "We've had so much support. It's such a sad, sad tragic thing that's happened. I think Chase is going to recover. The mental challenge will be tough."

Day and Woodall graduated from Connersville High School. His obituary in the News Examiner indicates he played football and wrestled in high school.

Day also enjoyed hunting and fishing, water sports and snowboarding, according to his obit.

Tippecanoe County Coroner Donna Avolt said Thursday that her office will not confirm the victim's identity until after an autopsy on Saturday.

Thursday's fire was the second fatal fire in West Lafayette this academic year. The previous fire claimed the life of a Purdue student.

Scott Notary, 22, a Purdue senior, was killed in fire at his off-campus apartment on Nov. 16, 2013. That fire was at 111 Lutz St., Heath said. Before the November fire fatality, it had been 36 years since anyone in West Lafayette died in a fire here, Heath said.

The three-story apartment complex where the Thursday morning fire started has apartments on the ground floor and townhouses on the second and third floors, West Lafayette City Engineer Dave Buck said.

The fire is believed to have started on the second floor on the southeast corner of the building, Heath said Thursday.

The apartment building was not equipped with automatic sprinklers and was not required by code to be equipped with sprinklers, Heath said.

Buck said he was not aware of what the building codes required when the complex was constructed. He said today's code requires sprinklers on apartment complexes four stories or higher.

West Lafayette Economic Developer Chandler Poole noted that his department performs inspections at the city's apartments. The inspection records for this specific complex have been pulled as part of the fire investigation.

Recalling that particular building off the top of his head, Poole said, "The landlord is a good landlord. There isn't a history of any problems or major violations."