No one is hurt in barn blaze
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
A three-alarm barn fire in the Town of Somers required mutual aid from nearly two-dozen fire departments, including five from Western Kenosha County Friday, when Somers fire officials responded to a report of flames at 240 Highway H.
There were no injuries to people or animals, according to Somers Fire Chief Carson Wilkinson.
“As our staff pulled out of the station, within two minutes of dispatch, they could see flames in the air even though (it was) miles away,” Wilkinson states in press release.
En route to the scene shortly before midnight, Wilkinson reports his department immediately called for mutual aid, and upgraded the blaze to a two-alarm fire.
“A MABAS box alarm was called, which was upgraded to a second alarm when units arrived on scene and a third alarm shortly thereafter,” he states.
As the first arriving units battled the fire on the east end of the barn, which was fully engulfed, the fire rapidly spread to two nearby buildings and a tractor.
With assistance from 22 fire agencies, including the towns of Wheatland, Randall, Paris, Salem and the Village of Bristol, the fire was contained by 2 a.m. Saturday.
“(The) fire was under control at about 2 a.m., but not extinguished, so units were on scene until slightly after 6 a.m.,” Wilkinson states.
Along with the five Western Kenosha County fire departments, Silver Lake Rescue was on standby, as was Winthrop Harbor in Illinois.
Additionally, officials from the City of Kenosha, Scout Leaders Rescue and the Village of Pleasant Prairie assisted.
Responding agencies in Racine County were the towns of Burlington, Kansasville, Raymond, Rochester, Wind Lake, Caledonia, South Shore Fire Protection District, and the Union Grove-Yorkville Volunteer Fire Department.
The Racine Fire Bells arrived to offer assistance to firefighters.
Oak Creek in Milwaukee County, in addition to a unit from Antioch, Ill., and the Newport Fire Department also responded.
While there were reports of smoldering and embers burning throughout the weekend, Wilkinson said there was no further need for additional emergency response from other departments.
“All return visits have been Somers only and not emergency responses,” states Wilkinson. “There is a small amount of hay in an area of concrete with nothing around it that is smoldering, people see it and get concerned.”
The Kenosha County Fire Investigation unit is conducting an investigation to determine the cause and origin, Wilkinson said.