Fire wall saves house
Andy Steinke/Events
A fire in Lake Delton Monday morning gutted a garage and scorched two vehicles, but no one was injured. A fire wall between the garage and its attached home saved the home from being destroyed, too, authorities say.
By Andy Steinke, Dells Events
Twenty-four firefighters responded to a garage fire in Lake Delton Monday morning that could have ended much worse than it did.
Delton Fire was dispatched at 10:03 a.m. to 172 Oak Ridge Pass, the home of Wally Czuprynko, Fire Chief Andy Schultz said.
Schultz was first on scene two minutes later. He immediately requested a second alarm be sent to emergency responders when he saw the amount of smoke coming from the fire. He also requested Kilbourn Fire for mutual aid.
The fire was called in by Czuprynko. He had received a call about the fire from his parents, who were at the home at the time.
When Czuprynko got home, he said he wasn’t sure if his attached home was going to go up in flames, too.
“When I arrived, flames were shooting out the garage door and windows,” he said. “Considering what it looked like when I pulled up, this isn’t bad.”
The fire gutted the garage, but the structure was still standing after the accident. By Monday afternoon the garage door and window openings were being patched with plywood by Holtz Builders.
When Schultz arrived, he turned off the utilities. About seven minutes later firefighters arrived and started knocking down the flames.
“Within 10 minutes we had (the fire) under control,” he said. “I was very confident we could save the house.”
Alliant Energy was called to shut off the gas and electric, and Dells-Delton EMS responded, but no one was injured in the blaze.
The cause of the fire, Schultz said, was possibly electrical, and it isn’t considered suspicious. It started in the corner of the garage where an electrical panel and a furnace were located.
Lake Delton Police Lt. Janet Klipp, a certified arson investigator, went through the garage with Schultz and concurred with his determination.
“(There was) probably a short or something overheated and the furnace started on fire,” Klipp said.
Schultz said, “Once the fire started, it melted a gas line. The gas meter was going like crazy. It was like having a torch in there. That’s what caused it to go up so quickly.”
Czuprynko, Klipp and Schultz agreed, however, that the safety measures that were taken in 2004 when the home and garage were built, saved the home.
The fire wall and the fire rating on the drywall installed in the garage kept the fire at bay.
It was so effective that an office and storage area above the garage sustained only smoke and soot damage, Czuprynko said.
“Wally had commented that he spared no expense on the house,” Klipp said. “I think the fire rating on the drywall saved the house.”
A dollar amount can’t be put on the damage yet, Czuprynko said Tuesday morning, because he is still working with his insurance company, American Family, to determine what to do with the garage: Fix it or start over.
That decision will be made by the insurance company, who Czuprynko said was on scene while flames were still coming from the garage.
Paul Davis Restoration and Remodeling was at the residence Monday afternoon alleviating smoke damage in the home.
Lost in the fire, among other things, were a GMC truck, a Lincoln SUV, tools, a notebook computer, a lawn mower, a snow blower and hunting and fishing equipment.
But the biggest loss of all, Czuprynko joked, was two 10-point and one 13-point deer mounts.