Incident at 9018 Hickory Dr. Town of Kewaskum

In a press release from the Kewaskum Fire Chief, James Warnkey, it stated that an incident occurred at 9018 Hickory Dr. in Kewaskum on Sept. 17.

At 2:14 p.m. the Kewaskum Fire Department was dispatched after a passerby went to investigate smoke in the area and found a semi tractor that was fully engulfed inside a large garage. The incident was immediately upgraded to the working still level before Kewaskum Fire units went enroute. While Kewaskum Fire units were enroute, seeing the column of smoke from the Village of Kewaskum, the requested for MABAS Box 18-2-2 to the First Box level for tenders only was requested.

Upon arrival, units found heavy smoke and fire through the roof on the North end of the 65’ X 120’ structure. The property/business owner was removing machinery from building. The incident was then upgraded to the full First Box and to the Second Box for tenders only. Initial fire attack was made with Kewaskum’s tenders and drop tanks while the water relay to move the water up the 1000’ driveway with a 5” supply line was being established.

Fire suppression and aerial ladder operations began, but the progression of the fire breached the steel ceiling and rapidly advanced to the south end of the structure. Initial tender fill site was established using hydrant water from the Village of Kewaskum until a larger fill site could be established accessing the Milwaukee River at River Hill Park in the Village of Kewaskum.

The Box Alarm was struck at 3:56 p.m. and Kewaskum and Boltonville fire units remained on scene until 6:30 p.m.

The structure is deemed as a total loss and the estimated loss of structure and contents is believed to be 2.5 million dollars plus. At the time of this press release, the actual cause of fire remains undetermined. It is strongly believed the fire started within a truck that had been operated approximately three hours prior to the incident. The fire is not suspicious in nature.

The Kewaskum Fire Department would like to thank our dedicated mutual aid partners City of West Bend Fire Department, Boltonville Fire Department, Campbellsport Fire Department, Kohlsville Fire Department, Filmore Fire Department, Jackson Fire Department, Allenton Fire Department, Newburg Fire Department, Beechwood Fire Department, Eden Fire Department, Theresa Fire Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Department Deputies, Fire Investigator and Dispatchers and We Energies.

The following message was sent from Caroline Wollner from Wollner Plumbing and Excavating on behalf of Scott and Jason Wollner.

To our community: from the bottom of our hearts, thank you

Thursday, Sept. 17, was a hard day for our family and for Wollner Plumbing and Excavating. We watched our shop and a building filled with 22 years of memories, work and history go up in flames.

But in the middle of such a difficult day, we were reminded of just how much we still have to be thankful for.

No one was hurt. We were able to save almost all of our equipment. Most importantly, Wollner Plumbing and Excavating is still here.

We cannot begin to express our gratitude to the firefighters and first responders who came to our aid. Eleven fire departments answered the call. The dedication shown by every person who worked to contain the fire and protect our home and property is something our family will never forget.

We also want to thank Carrie Goebel, the person who noticed the smoke and immediately called 911. Her quick action gave us valuable time to move our equipment and vehicles to safety.

To our family, friends, neighbors, customers and the entire community, thank you. Every phone call, text, prayer, offer of help and kind words has reminded us just how fortunate we are to be surrounded by such wonderful people.

There have been plenty of pictures and headlines showing what we lost that day.

But we want everyone to know what we didn’t lose:

We didn’t lose our family.

We didn’t lose our faith.

We didn’t lose our determination.

And we didn’t lose our business.

After 22 years of building Wollner Plumbing and Excavating together, one fire is not going to stop us. We have customers counting on us, work waiting for us and a shop that we will rebuild.

We are still here. We are open for business. And we are ready to get back to work.

This fire will be a page in the Wollner family’s story, but it will never define our story.

From our family to yours, thank you for standing beside us.