July 20, 2021 – Town of West Bend, WI – On Tuesday, July 20, 2021, at 3:56 p.m., the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a house fire, at 3615 Paradise Drive in the Town of West Bend, Washington County.
Washington County Sheriff’s Deputies, West Bend Police Officers and the West Bend Fire Department responded to the scene.
The residence is a single family home. The tenant of the residence called 911 and advised there was a fire in the bedroom. The tenant stated she could hear loud high voltage electrical noises near the house.
At the time of the fire the tenant was the lone occupant of the home, she exited the residence with her two dogs and waited for emergency responders. West Bend Fire personnel arrived on scene within minutes and began fire suppression efforts and quickly extinguished the flames.
The tenant told deputies she smelled smoke and discovered it was coming from the bedroom closet. The tenant opened the closet to investigate and immediately observed flames coming out of the electrical breaker box. The tenant tried to smother the fire with clothing but the fire quickly spread to the clothes. The tenant then gathered her pets and exited the house and called 911.
The fire was contained to the east bedroom. The interior of the home sustained heat, smoke and water damage. There was minor damage to the exterior of the home. The home is valued at $200,000.
The origin and cause of the fire was investigated by the West Bend Fire Department and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. The origin of the fire appears to be the east bedroom. The cause of the fire appears to be electrical; there was evidence of “arcing” inside the electrical/breaker box located in the closet of the bedroom.
Paradise Dr. between S. 18th Av. and Scenic Drive was shut down briefly for fire apparatus.
The West Bend Fire Department was assisted by the following fire departments: Newburg, Kohlsville, Allenton, Kewaskum, and Jackson. WE Energies assisted fire personnel on scene. The American Red Cross was called to assist the displaced tenants (2) and their pets.
No fire or police personnel were injured.
