Spontaneous Combustion Burns Wisconsin Home

June 13, 2007
There are no fire hydrants, so getting water to the scene to put out the blaze proved to be a problem.

TOWN OF DUNN, Wis. --

Staining materials, which were not properly disposed of, are responsible for burning down a $325,000 home in the Town of Dunn on Tuesday afternoon.

McFarland Deputy Fire Chief Scott Miller said that the materials used in staining an archway for an upcoming wedding were left in a bag on the deck of the home.

Those materials ignited and burned the home to the ground. The home was located on Edgewood Drive, near Lake Kegonsa.

Homeowners had left the home an hour before the blaze, which was called into authorities by neighbors and motorists on Highway 51, who could see the billowing black smoke.

Because of the rural location, there are no fire hydrants, so getting water to the scene to put out the blaze proved to be a problem, reported WISC-TV.

Pumper trucks from neighboring cities, including Stoughton and Cottage Grove, brought in more than 70,000 gallons of water that was then dumped into portable tanks.

The water was then pumped to the scene in a half-mile-length fire hose.

No one was hurt in the fire.

The heat also proved to be a challenge. Emergency crews from McFarland monitored firefighters for heat exhaustion. Fire crews rotated shifts often to put out the blaze. Recently purchased cooling tents and misters helped keeps crews cool in the heat.

Fire and emergency departments from Stoughton, McFarland, Cottage Grove, Monona, Fitchburg and Blooming Grove assisted at the scene.

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