Side of a fire truck with the letters MFD
Fire
Chris Carbon, Fire Chief

Fire Located, Extinguished Outside Local Hospital

  • Location

    200 block S. Park Street
    Madison, WI 53715

  • Incident Date

    Dispatch: Oct. 17, 2025 - 8:09pm
    Arrival: Oct. 17, 2025 - 8:14pm

  • Incident Type

    Structure

43.0660562, -89.4016868

This map displays an approximate location.

Updates

Incident Summary & Investigative Update

Engine 4 was dispatched to Meriter Hospital for a reported structure fire. Upon arrival, Engine 4 made contact with maintenance staff, who reported smoke in the 5th floor atrium. 

Prior to MFD’s arrival, a security guard found flames about one foot off the ground in the area adjacent to the 5th floor atrium. Together, two security guards knocked down the flames using fire extinguishers. 

Light smoke conditions persisted inside the 5th floor atrium. A thermal imaging camera indicated elevated temperatures along the exterior wall, but fire did not penetrate the building. 

Engine 4 and Engine 1 overhauled the smoldering area where the fire occurred, and Ladder 1 deployed a hose line to cool the area with water.

Investigators believe this fire was accidental in nature. Evidence of recent roofing work was found near the site of the fire. Initial damage estimates are approximately $95,000.

--PIO Cynthia Schuster

Incident Details

The Madison Fire Department is on scene of a fire incident at Meriter Hospital (202 S. Park Street). 

Firefighters were dispatched at 8:09 PM. Firefighters located smoke on the fifth floor in a mechanical room, and fire was found on a roof outside the building. The smoke inside the building was attributed to air handling systems near the fire bringing smoke into the building. Fire did not penetrate the building. 

At this time, the fire is extinguished. No injuries have been reported. Patients and hospital personnel are returning to the hospital after a brief evacuation of the Emergency Department and 6th floor. The MFD Fire Investigation Team is responding to investigate the origin and cause of the fire.

Traffic along southbound Park Street near the hospital is temporarily shut down to make way for emergency vehicles, but traffic is expected to reopen as units clear the scene. Northbound traffic remains open.

This release will be updated as more information becomes available.

An aerial ladder extends to the 5th floor with firefighters on scene
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