Residents of a Fort Atkinson apartment building may be lucky to be alive after a more than 100 foot tall tree crashed through the roof during sunny skies on Sunday afternoon
Fort Atkinson Fire Department Division Chief Dion Brown says first responders were called to the 1200 block of Commonwealth Drive shortly after 4:00 p.m
Brown says the first to arrive found the limbs of the colossal tree jutting out of the roof and sides of the building
Brown says the tree caused significant damage to four out of the six apartments on that side of the building
Brown says luckily nobody was home in the impacted apartments at the time of the incident
The Red Cross is assisting the residents who were displaced
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Demonstration dovetailed with real life for the Fort Atkinson Fire Department on Saturday morning
which went full time after a city referendum in 2022
was hosting elected representatives to show them what goes into running a modern
were still at the firehouse when a call came in for a garage fire in the 300 block of Lincoln Avenue just before 11 a.m
Fire Chief Bruce Peterson says the first unit reached the burning garage in less than three minutes
Firefighters attacked the fire in the garage and cooled adjacent structures to prevent it from spreading
One firefighter suffered a minor leg injury
Peterson says the cause of the fire is unknown but not believed to be suspicious
The flyer for Saturday’s event at the firehouse said it would run from 9 a.m
Elected and appointed officials were invited to an “exclusive
hands-on experience” to learn about the department’s operations
Highlights were to include meeting department leaders
a guided tour of the fire station at 124 Milwaukee Ave
hands-on experiences with vehicle extrication equipment and fire extinguishing techniques