Fires, Overturned Sailboat Fill Firefighters' Afternoon

City of Madison Firefighters had a busy afternoon today with two fires on opposite sides of the City and a call for a water rescue at Vilas Beach. It started with a call to 1302 Sugar Maple Lane on the City's far west side. The call came in at 12:36 p.m. Firefighters arrived at 12:47 to find black smoke coming from the eaves of the house. They entered through the front door of the single-family home and were met with heavy black smoke that had banked all the way to the floor. That made it difficult to find the fire's origin, but it was quickly traced to the basement. Knockdown of the fire took place between 10 and 15 minutes following their arrival. No one was home at the time of the fire. Ironically, the home is just about one mile from Fire Station #12, due to open in a few weeks. The second fire call came in at 2:01 p.m. at 1454 Williamson. Firefighters believe that fire started in the porch roof of the single-family home when a workman doing "hot work" ignited some materials in the porch roof. (Hot work is defined as welding, brazing, soldering, heat treating, grinding, powder-actuated tools, hot riveting and all other similar applications producing a spark, flame, or heat.) That fire was extinguished within minutes and firefighters cleared the scene within half an hour. At 2:16 p.m., the Department's Lake Rescue Team was dispatched for a water rescue after a sailboat overturned near Vilas Beach. Two people on board were rescued by boaters in the area. There were no injuries.