FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ) – Fire has destroyed a Fond du Lac tavern and a popular place for fish fries.
Firefighters were called to the Wayside Tavern just after 4:40 a.m. Wednesday.
Flames were spewing from the second floor when units arrived, and Division Chief Troy Haase says the top floor later fell into the ground floor while the back-half of the building was totally burned out.
There were no reports of injuries, and nobody was inside as an upstairs apartment was vacant.
Units from 12 fire departments put the flames out around 7 a.m., but crews stayed on the scene to deal with hot spots while investigators started looking for a possible cause.
“Growing up fishing down at the end of the road, at the lake, at the river, eat. Now this guy just lost everything he had for the past 40 years,” a bystander reminisced to FOX 11.
(Additional reporting from Wheeler News Service)
