TIGERTON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A Tigerton apartment building and former bar is a total loss after a massive five-alarm fire over the weekend.
The village of Tigerton Fire Department and many neighboring agencies were called Saturday evening to Cedar Street, where the blaze broke out.
Charred rubble is all that’s left of the apartment building and former Crossroads Bar & Grill, which stood there for decades. Community members said it’s a huge loss for the Tigerton community.
“A lot of the people here in town were watching it because there was a lot of memories made there. Everybody I think in this town probably has memories there,” resident Anita Kernen said.
The building itself holds a lot of memories near the hearts of people in Tigerton, including Kernen, who worked at Crossroads Bar & Grill for 16 years.
“Played ball there, shot pool there in the leagues. My husband played ball for them, so we spent a lot of time there when the kids were a lot younger, and a lot of friends were made and a lot of memories,” Kernen said.
Kernen said the building was considered a community staple.
Three families were living in the apartments at the time of the fire. When the fire broke out Saturday, it was a community effort to make sure everyone was safe.
“A few of us went running in there to bang on the doors and make sure everybody was out, so everybody was okay that lived there,” resident Lana Fox said.
Fox lives and works kitty corner from the apartment destroyed in the fire. She said this is the first time she’s seen a fire of this magnitude through her own eyes.
“I’ve never seen something like this before. It was scary. Everybody pulled together though to help,” Fox said.
The Tigerton Fire Department said this is one of the biggest fires the village has ever seen. When crews arrived at the scene, they saw billows of smoke coming from the attic area. Given the fire’s density, several other agencies were called in to help.
“I’d say our biggest challenge was the water sourcing. Even though we had the hydrants, we didn’t want to deplete the water supply in Tigerton, so initially, that was the biggest challenge,” Tigerton Fire Department Captain John Hunholz said.
Altogether, 540,000 gallons of water was used to put out the blaze.
No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Tigerton Fire Department.
Donations are being collected for the three families displaced by the apartment fire. You can drop off monetary and/or clothing donations at Mainstreet Diner in Tigerton and the Tigerton Area Ambulance Garage.
Comments