ELKHART — Officials have not determined the cause of a fire that destroyed a bar near Simonton Lake during the early morning of Jan. 12, but they continue to investigate, taking samples from the scene and speaking with potential witnesses.

The Osolo Fire Department was called around 4:52 a.m. to My Dad’s Place, a bar located at 51425 S.R. 19, west of Simonton Lake.

By the time crews arrived they found the building fully involved in flames, said Fire Chief Jerry Miller.

The fire was under control by 6:30 a.m. with mutual aid from Bristol City and Port Township Fire Departments. The building was a total loss. One firefighter was taken to the hospital to be checked for minor injuries.

The Indiana Fire Marshal Office was called to investigate the cause of the fire, which remains undetermined. Miller said the Osolo Fire Department called the Fire Marshal’s Office because the fire involved a business.

Merle Anderson, the owner of Pete’s Simonton Lake Tavern, near My Dad’s Place, said he gave surveillance videos to the Sheriff’s Department to use for their investigation. He said the surveillance camera does not point toward My Dad’s Place, but it could help with the investigation because it shows the background light up all of a sudden when the fire started.

“It just brightened up like what you see from fireworks,” he said.

Anderson said he thinks the fire could be of suspicious nature.

The case was also forwarded to the Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department. Lt. Travis Adamson said the sheriff’s department is still waiting on the fire marshal’s office to continue the investigation.

“The Fire Marshal took some samples to get them tested,” Miller said. “It’s still under investigation, it hasn’t been labeled ‘undetermined’ or ‘accidental,’ we just don’t know.”