Fireman arrested as his house burns

Battle Ground - Battle Ground firefighters put out a house fire Friday morning. Police arrested one of the people who lived there, and who was at the scene when they arrived.

The fire on county road 725 North, just east of county road 75 East, destroyed the front of the house, and burned a truck.

The state police arrested Lafayette Fireman, Eric Tendam, 40, for interfering with a firefighter. Fire chief Phillip Lehman said Tendam was a hindrance to trying to put out the fire. Police say Tendam refused firefighters' requests for him to leave, tried to pull hoses out of the hands of firefighters and threw one firefighter's helmet into the fire.

At least 15 firefighters from Battle Ground and Wabash Township had the fire out in about 40 minutes. No one was inside the house. Tendam's ex-wife arrived later to collect a family dog.

One firefighter was slightly injured when he stumbled into a hot tub amid zero-visibility smoke inside the house. At this point, the cause of the the fire has not been determined.
Tendam was taken to the Tippecanoe County Jail, where he's being held on a 255 dollar cash bond. He was arrested on suspicion of interfering with firefighters, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and possession of marijuana paraphernalia.  Tendam has been part of the Lafayette Fire Department since 1996.  Fire Chief Jim Morrow says he is still trying to get information about Tendam's arrest, but has no comment at this time.
The Arson Task force is still investigating the cause of the fire.