SHEBOYGAN, WI (WHBL) - For the second time this winter, an arctic blast of air has covered Wisconsin, bringing with it temperatures below zero and wind chills requiring advisories. The cold also made it tough for the Sheboygan Fire Department battling a small house fire Sunday.
Battalion Chief Tim Kohlbeck tells WHBL News the fire was in the 1900 block of Indiana Avenue just before noon. "When we arrived there was smoke coming out one of the windows at the rear of the property. The attack team was able to get a hose line around the back of the house, up the stairs. They had to force their way through a locked door to get to the kitchen, and eventually they were able to locate the seat of the fire and get water on it and knock it down in a few minutes.”
Kohlbeck says whenever temperatures drop as cold as they currently are, it's never easy to battle a fire. “The cold causes a lot of problems for us, especially the extreme low temperatures we had with water freezing and equipment doesn’t always work as good it should.”
There was also an unusual trait with this fire, according to Kohlbeck. “The fire produced a great deal of smoke. One of the guys who first got up there (said) there was very little visibility. So it took a little bit to find the fire, which seems unusual, but generally fires are not really smoky. When the guys found it they got water on it (and) knocked it down. We spent a little time just making sure it didn’t get into the walls or spread outside of the room it was in, which it did not. They did a fantastic job.”
Kohlbeck says the cause of the fire remains under investigation, which is being done with help from the Sheboygan County Fire Investigation Team. Damage was estimated around 15-thousand dollars.