At 1:15 AM this morning, I was awaken by the sound of sirens descending on our downtown.
As I rushed to the window to see what was happening, a squad pulled up in front of our building and blocked off the street.
I leaned out the window to get a better look up the east end of Main Street and that’s when I heard the sound of breaking glass- to the west.
As I turned my gaze toward the far west end of Main my eyes began to focus and I couldn’t believe what I saw-
-the Wisconsin House on the 400 block of West Main was spewing heavy black smoke from the top floor.
I clambered onto our roof for a better perspective and as I looked on, the smoke began to increase.
By 1:25AM, the building looked like it was in serious trouble.
Fire trucks and ambulances littered the street, and by 1:45AM, it seemed as though things were under control.
For those of you not familiar with the Wisconsin House, it is the old, four-story, brick rooming house that sits at the end of West Main Street across from Veterans Memorial Park.
I am sure the papers will have an update on the cause of the blaze sometime today, as I saw Darryl Enriquez pass by my building only a moment ago.
More later…
