MONROE — Downtown Monroe saw a lot of flashing lights Friday night, but it wasn’t an outdoor concert. Thankfully, though, it was for a near-miss fire.
Monroe Fire and first responders were dispatched to the 1500 block of 11th Street just before 9:30 p.m. for a possible fire. Police officers that were responding to a prior call noticed smoke coming out of the main lobby window of the recently renovated Eugene Hotel.
“(Monroe Police) officers requested fire department assistance after observing smoke coming from the basement of a commercial property in the downtown district. A standard response was initiated,” Monroe Fire Chief Al Rufer said in a press release following the incident. “Light smoke was visible from the exterior, and MPD immediately began evacuating adjacent buildings and securing the area for incoming emergency apparatus. An initial interior search using a thermal imaging camera revealed light smoke throughout the first floor and basement, though the exact location of the fire remained unclear.”
A large mutual aid box alarm (MABAS) was initially called, reaching out to more than two dozen agencies to assist a potential large structure fire. Given the city’s history with large fires — and the hotel a part of the western block of the square, with old downtown buildings built side-by-side — extra caution was used. Residents and patrons in neighboring building apartments and businesses were evacuated, and adjacent streets were closed down from traffic.
“Given the building’s size, age, and location, command escalated the response to a MABAS Box 5-1-1 to the third level, triggering a preplanned response for a structure of this nature,” Rufer said.
According to hotel owner Chris Soukup, the fire was at first thought to be in the basement, but instead contained to the exterior entryway along the sidewalk.
“Due to the amount of smoke appearing to come from the basement of the building, the fire department put out a call for a wide response because of the risk of a downtown fire spreading very quickly,” Soukup said. “It turned out to be a small fire inside the bench seat in the front window, presumably caused from someone walking past and dropping a cigarette or possibly a stray firework, as that was the call the officers were responding to.”
Fire crews put out the hazard, canceled the box alarm and had the area cleared in about an hour.
“The fire was quickly located on an exterior wall where the building meets the sidewalk. Firefighters gained access and extinguished the fire, successfully containing it to the area of origin,” Rufer said. “At this time, the official cause remains undetermined. The property was released to the owner.”
Soukup publicly thanked first responders for their quick action, which “made sure this didn’t turn into a dangerous situation.”
“Whatever it was made its way into the where the sidewalk meets the building, and started smoldering the wood inside the facade of the building. The police and fire department responded incredibly quickly and contained the fire, with very minimal damage to the front of the building, just beneath the window,” Soukup added. “All is good, and the building is fine.”
Soukup added that his team had boarded up the damaged areas and secured the location for the evening shortly after the scene was cleared.
The initial box alarm call asked for crew or equipment assistance from: Green County EMS, Monroe Rural Fire District, New Glarus, Monticello, Belleville, Brodhead, Brooklyn, Freeport, Middleton, Browntown, Mount Horeb, Mineral Point, Verona, Beloit, Evansville, Monona, Barneveld and Oregon.
“We extend our gratitude to our emergency service partners for their swift and coordinated response. While this incident resulted in minimal damage, the situation had the potential to escalate rapidly. The quick action and sound judgment of the MPD officers played a critical role in ensuring a positive outcome,” Rufer said.