'Proud To Be MFD'

Fire Investigator Kara Nelson Reflects on Career of Public Service

Back in 1991, Kara Nelson was keeping shop at Johannsen’s Greenhouse when Ladder 6 came in to find some flowers to beautify their station. As she hauled a large sack of soil on one shoulder, the lieutenant approached her with a flat of pink petunias in tow. 

“You look strong,” he said. “You should apply to the Madison Fire Department!”

“I remember laughing,” Nelson reflects, “But he planted a seed.” 

More than three decades later, Nelson retires from the Madison Fire Department, having served as a Firefighter/EMT, Paramedic, Paramedic Field Training Officer, Apparatus Engineer, Apparatus Engineer 2, and Fire Investigator. 

Her career at the MFD began in October 1994. Inspired by her father, a community police officer with the Madison Police Department, Nelson learned from a young age that public service is about knowing your community, helping your neighbor, and being compassionate toward their circumstance.

“Seeing the way my dad policed, treating humans as humans and not as calls, was definitely the basis for being on the ambulance—these are more than just calls,” said Nelson. 

While on the ambulance as a paramedic, Nelson had the pleasure of serving the neighborhood where she grew up. Responding from Fire Station 2 on Grand Canyon Drive, the Memorial High grad knew the territory well, from the businesses to the people who resided there. 

In addition to responding to calls, she trained other MFD paramedics as a Paramedic 2. In 2010, she was promoted to Apparatus Engineer, and three years later she became a Chief’s Aide. As a Chief’s Aide, Nelson drove the Command Car, tracked personnel, and assisted the needs of the Command Chief at fires and other significant incidents. 

“It gave me the opportunity to be able to watch the fire department in action,” said Nelson. “I was very proud to be MFD because we have some very smart, capable people that make great decisions on the fire ground and are well honed in their trade.”

In 2016, Nelson joined the Fire Investigation Division and was tasked with attempting to identify the cause and origin of fires. Fire investigation is considered one of the most difficult of the forensic sciences, but it was an assignment Nelson enjoyed and continued to practice after the Fire Investigation Division became the Fire Investigation Team, based out of Station 11 on the east side. 

One of the biggest tests of her career came less than a year into her investigative tenure, when a house exploded on Stratton Way. Nelson found herself fully immersed in a complicated case that evolved from a fire investigation to a homicide investigation. Together with other city, state, and federal agencies, Nelson and the team of investigators were able to piece together what happened, and the person responsible ultimately pleaded guilty. 

“The multi-agency involvement and collaboration was something I will remember for the rest of my life,” said Nelson. “It took that multi-agency approach for the investigation to be successful and to bring the man to justice.” 

Another investigative breakthrough, in 2019, made waves across the globe, when two sushi restaurants in town suffered similar kitchen fires just weeks apart. After the first, which occurred at an east side restaurant, Nelson and other MFD and ATF investigators pored over the evidence and video footage from the fire. The source appeared to be a bowl of tempura crunch left on the kitchen counter. 

While researching the possibility that tempura crunch can spontaneously combust, another similar fire happened on the west side. This time, the evidence was clear: the residual hot oil resting in a strainer with deep-fried sushi crunch was spontaneously combusting in local kitchens. 

News of the discovery spread nationwide and was picked up by international news outlets. It also led restaurants to change the way they drain and cool their deep-fried tempura. 

“It was neat to see Madison Fire make the news across the globe, and it possibly played a big part in preventing fires worldwide,” said Nelson.

With a multitude of achievements behind her, Nelson looks forward to exploring the U.S. countryside with her husband, a fellow retired MFD Apparatus Engineer, and their three dogs. She’ll also be cheering on her three adult children as they embark on careers of their own. She begins retirement with immense gratitude for the Madison community. 

“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you for 29 years. It’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve my hometown, and it’s been an honor of a lifetime to have done it with my co-workers that I’ve learned so much from and look up to.”