April 22, 2024 – Town of Addison, WI – On Sunday, April 21, 2024 at approximately 10:38 a.m. the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a possible shed fire at a residence in the 6900 block of Hillcrest Drive in the Town of Addison.
The caller reported smoke was coming out of the building and there were people removing equipment from the shed. The caller also said the shed was approximately 20-30 feet away from the barn on the property.
The Allenton Fire Department was paged and the call was upgraded to a MABAS call. Fire Departments from Slinger, Hartford, St. Lawrence, Kohlsville, Iron Ridge and West Bend were paged to assist.
The first responding Deputy arrived at approximately 10:48 a.m. and observed smoke was coming out of the east side of the shed which was approximately 20-feet by 40-feet.
Shortly thereafter flames were observed and the structure was fully engulfed. Fire Department personnel were able to get the fire extinguished by approximately 11:26 a.m. There were no injuries to anyone on scene.
The skid loader and a majority of the shed contents are a complete loss.
Overhaul operations are under way. Traffic on Hillcrest Drive is currently closed to vehicular traffic until overhaul operations are complete.
The preliminary investigation revealed a skid loader was being used Sunday morning and was returned to the shed between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
The person who was operating the skid loader was inside the residence talking with the property owner when they heard some loud popping noises which they thought were gunshots from hunters.
A while later they heard these same noises and observed the caller (a resident who was out for a run) outside and observed the smoke. According to the Allenton Fire Department, it appears the origin of the fire is the area where the skid loader was parked.
At this time there is no damage estimate available and no further information is available.