SUN PRAIRIE, WI (Wisconsin Radio Network) — The Sun Prairie firefighter killed in Tuesday’s downtown explosion and fire has been identified by as Captain Cory Barr. Assistant Fire Chief Bill Sullivan said the department is coming to grips with a difficult situation. “It is a difficult thing. We’ve done some initial debriefing, and some support groups have been brought in already,” Sullivan said.
The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Barr and his wife Abby own the Barr House, 100 W. Main St., one of the businesses destroyed in the blast.
A second firefighter was critically injured in the natural gas explosion, which leveled at least two buildings around 7:00 Tuesday evening. “The Sun Prairie Fire Department is strong, and we will keep on building from this,” Fire Chief Christopher Garrison. “We are hurt, but we will come back.”
WE Energies says workers apparently punctured a four-inch gas main, which caused a major leak. The first explosion was reported at about 7:05 PM with fire crews already on the scene. The blast flattened the bar and caused a major fire at a pizza restaurant.
A GoFundMe account for the family was created Wednesday with the goal of raising $15,000 to help support Abby and the rest of his family. As of 5:15 Wednesday afternoon the campaign had already raised over $45,500.
