10/16/2023 Residential Fire

Posted on 10/16/2023

Date: 10/16/2023
Case: 23-36490
Authority: Sgt. Alexander Herriges

On Monday, October 16th, 2023, at approximately 9:48 PM, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a residential fire in the 4100 block of Hy 175 in the Town of Polk. The caller on scene reported that the fire had started in a garbage receptacle located outside of the residence and had spread to the home.

Mutual aid was requested from Slinger Police Department, and the first responding officer on scene had reported that the fire was no longer active as the caller had been able to extinguish the flames. The fire appeared to have been contained to the outside of the structure.

Slinger Fire Department responded to the scene along with an ambulance from Lifestar Rescue.

The caller was the tenant of the property, and he was the only occupant of the residence at the time of the fire. There were no injuries to the caller nor any personnel as a result of the fire. The traffic pattern on Hy 175 was not interrupted during this incident. The property owner was notified, and preliminary damage estimates were believed to be in excess of $10,000.

The investigation into the cause of the fire revealed that the property tenant had been lighting off fireworks earlier in the evening and had disposed of the remnants of the fireworks into the garbage receptacle located on the south side of the residence. He later woke up to the active fire coming from that location. The fire was extinguished by the caller with water from the garden hose.