Firefighters and police worked together to rescue 10 people trapped during a weekend fire in Edgerton, Wisconsin.
According to a release from the department, the fire occurred early Saturday, March 23, 2024 at 503 Rollins Street, where 911 received a call about smoke alarms going off. Multiple subsequent calls came in reporting smoke and fire in the second-floor hallway blocking the exit from the second-floor apartment, and indicating that multiple people were trapped.
Fire and rescue units from Lakeside Fire-Rescue along with Edgerton police were initially dispatched. Additional 911 calls prompted Rock County 911 to upgrade the incident to a Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) “working still,” bringing in additional fire and EMS units from Janesville and Stoughton. On the law enforcement side, additional units from Rock County Sheriff and Wisconsin State Patrol also responded.
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First-arriving crews confirmed a fire in the stairway area blocking exit from the second-floor apartment, and multiple people preparing to jump from second-floor windows. In total, 10 people were trapped—three adults and seven children, the latter ranging in age from one to 12.
Fire crews split into two teams. One worked hand-in-hand with law enforcement officers to rescue the trapped occupants. Meanwhiel, the second crew of firefighters started working to get the fire under control.
Rescue efforts consisted of firefighters carrying the trapped children, who were being handed out windows, down ladders and handing them off to awaiting law enforcement officers. Once all seven children were rescued, firefighters assisted the three adults down the ladders to safety.
Four residents from the first-floor apartment woke to the sound of commotion above them and quickly realized the building was on fire. They were able to exit their apartment without assistance.
All 14 occupants of the building were uninjured.
‘They’re going to jump:’ 10 rescued in Edgerton house fire
Fire damage was contained to a “landing’ area at the top of the stairway leading to the second-floor apartment, with the second-floor apartment also sustaining smoke damage. The first-floor apartment sustained minor water damage.
“This morning proved the value of working smoke alarms,” said Lakeside Fire Chief Randall Pickering. “This could have been much, much worse had the smoke detectors not activated. They potentially prevented a much more tragic outcome.” The building was not equipped with automatic residential fire sprinklers.
The cause of the fire was attributed to discarded smoking materials from the night before that smoldered for several hours.
