The Sturgeon Bay Fire Department was paged out shortly after 5PM to what was referred to as a structure fire at 1661 Michigan Street. Eight units and 28 firefighters responded to the call. The first crew on scene determined that the fire was on the second floor of the home, at the top of the stairway. Fire Chief Tim Herlache says there was so much material on the stairway that two firemen who advanced toward the fire tumbled down the steps. Luckily, they escaped injury. Chief Herlache says the initial blaze was quickly doused, but the fire spread to the attic and more work was needed before the operation was completed. About 700 gallons of water was used to knock down the flames. The home sustained heat, smoke and water damage and is uninhabitable. Two women and four children were in the house at the time of the fire and all escaped without injury. However, a family cat died due to the smoke. Two boys discovered the fire and told their grandmother who alerted authorities.
The American Red Cross provided temporary shelter for the family. Units of the Sturgeon Bay Police, Door County Sheriff’s and ambulance departments were on hand and traffic was diverted during the fire fighting activity. In addition, crews from Sturgeon Bay Utilities and Wisconsin Public Service were called on to shut down electrical and gas services. At this point, no cause for the fire or a damage estimate is available. Fire crews cleared the scene at 8:52PM.
