12/17/2024 Jackson Shop Fire

Posted on 12/17/2024

PRESS RELEASE



Date: 12/17/2024

Case: Town of Jackson Outbuilding Shop Fire

Authority: Sgt. Brad Rodich #417


On 12/17/2024 at 3:37pm, the Washington County Sheriff's Office Communication Center received a 911 call from a property owner on Church Rd in the Town of Jackson reporting a fire in the shop of his property. The caller reported that the shop was full of equipment and that there had been several small explosions. The caller stated that he was calling from another nearby property and that he sustained some burns in the fire. Jackson Fire and Sheriff’s Office Deputies were subsequently dispatched to the scene.

Jackson Fire quickly upgraded the response to the MABAS Working Still level. The first arriving units on scene found the shop, which was an approximately 30ft x 30ft detached building, to be fully engulfed. Fire personnel were able to quickly knock down the fire before it spread to any of the adjacent buildings, or the living residence located on the property. Units also responded to the location of the caller, and he was treated by EMS staff and transported to an area hospital with minor burns.

The initial investigation showed that the property owner, a male in his 80’s, was welding in the shop when a small explosion happened causing his clothing to start on fire, which caused minor burns. The subject did not have a phone at the property and had to drive to his nearby residence to call 911.

The Jackson Fire Department was assisted by the Slinger, Germantown, Hartford, Richfield, West Bend, Cedarburg and St. Lawrence Fire Departments, as well as Lifestar Rescue. The outbuilding and its contents are considered a total loss, however there are no damage estimates at this time.