Hydrant Supply Fails during Wisconsin House Fire

River Hills – A River Hills home sustained $200,000 in damage after a fire Saturday, Sept. 19.

The fire at 755 W. Green Tree Road was reported at 7:55 p.m. Saturday. The only family member home at the time heard a smoke alarm, noticed smoke toward the back of the house and went to a neighbor’s house to call 911. When firefighters and police arrived, they saw heavy fire coming from the roof of the home.

River Hills does not have a municipal fire hydrant system, so the standard response is to call water tanker trucks to the scene. Because the home was close to Glendale, crews were able to connect to a fire hydrant a few blocks away. Shortly after connecting to that hydrant, the water supply failed.

Additional crews had already begun preparing water tankers to send to the fire. For a brief time, firefighting crews withdrew from the fire while the crews transitioned from the failed hydrant to the water tanker. They reentered the home after transitioning to the water tanker supply.

No one was injured in the fire.

One caged pet and two cats were unharmed. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation. However, the fire does not appear to be suspicious in nature.