Fires burn two homes, damage one
Contributed
Little was left of the house on Golden Drive that burned Wednesday.
By Andy Steinke, Dells Events
A series of fires this week caused the complete losses of two homes and severe smoke damage at a third.
Fire department personnel from both local departments responded to several calls this week, including two structure fires and a chimney fire.
Delton Fire responded to a mobile home fire at lot 33 at Steele's trailer park at 1975 County Highway A Tuesday afternoon.
Fifteen firefighters and five pieces of apparatus were dispatched around 2 p.m., Chief Andy Schultz said.
The home was occupied by three people, but only the wife was present at the time of the fire.
She came home and discovered smoke in the kitchen area, so she went outside, closed the door and called 911, Schultz said.
Firefighters were on scene for two hours, and the mobile home was a total loss.
No one was injured and Schultz said the cause of the fire was a defective furnace.
Delton fire was called again Wednesday as mutual aid to a Wisconsin Dells fire at 834 Golden Drive.
Kilbourn fire Chief Tory Wolfram said his department was dispatched to the structure fire at 2:19 a.m. and arrived at 2:30 a.m.
The department immediately called for Delton Fire because the two-story home was fully engulfed in flames, Wolfram said.
In all, 25 firefighters and 10 pieces of apparatus responded to the fire.
Wolfram said the fire was under control by about 3:30 a.m., but fire personnel were on scene until 7 a.m.
The home and its contents were a complete loss, but the losses could've been much worse. There were three people asleep in the home at the time of the fire.
They were able to escape without injury, but Wolfram said it was a pretty close call. They didn't even have time to grab socks and shoes or change out of their pajamas, he said.
Wolfram said the cause of the fire was a free-standing, wood-burning fireplace in the living room. The installation of a ventilation pipe was faulty, he said.
Firefighters used 30,000 gallons of water to put the fire out, which is a lot, Wolfram said.
While they were at the house, the Kilbourn Fire Department was dispatched to another residence at 531 Washington Avenue for a chimney fire at 4:15 a.m.
Kilbourn sent one of the trucks from the Golden Drive fire and dispatched their ladder truck from the department. Delton Fire sent two trucks from their station to help as well.
The house was full of smoke, but there was no other damage, Wolfram said.
Firefighters cleared an obstruction in the chimney and the situation was under control.
Wolfram said he talked to one of the residents the next day, and he said he would have to have most of the items in the home professionally cleaned because of the smoke damage.
Wolfram said the two departments worked very well together this week.
"We are relying on one another," he said. "I sure did appreciate the help we got from them."