NEW GLARUS — At approximately 3:45 p.m. on April 6, New Glarus Fire and New Glarus Area EMS were paged for a large fire near the intersections of 2nd Street, County County H and Wis. 69. 

While en route to the scene, a large volume of heavy smoke was observed, prompting Fire Command to request a MABAS box alarm. This request brought units from Verona Fire Department, Belleville Volunteer Fire Department, Mount Horeb Fire, Blanchardville Fire, Hollandale Fire Department, Monroe Rural Fire District, and New Glarus Area EMS to the scene.

According to New Glarus Deputy Fire Chief Jim Moldenhauer, upon arrival, command noted approximately 15 acres of marsh land on fire, spanning nearly a 1/4 mile of active fire. An aggressive fire attack was initiated by first arriving New Glarus units, with reinforcements provided as they arrived.

Access to the fire was challenging due to areas of standing water, soft ground, and the heavy vegetation. This, combined with the breezy conditions, made for a very dangerous situation for all personnel, Moldenhauer said.

“The fire was brought under control and considered extinguished in roughly an hour, and I am glad to report that no personnel were injured and no equipment was damaged,” Moldenhauer said. “Without the aggressive attack from your local volunteers, as well as those amazing mutual aid partners, this incident would have been much worse.”

Moldenhauer also commended the hard work of the Green County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center, which not only provided assistance with this fire, but several other wildland fires across the county.

“I cannot put into words how hard these men and women worked to get this fire under control as quickly as they did,” Moldenhauer said before adding three more words in a superlative, “Pride. Dedication. Professionalism.”