Three residents trapped on a burning apartment building's second-floor balcony jumped early Saturday morning and were caught by Hartford police officers, as a fast-moving fire displaced 12 people and sent two officers to the hospital for smoke-related injuries. The blaze broke out around 1 a.m. at an eight-unit apartment building on Evergreen Drive, with flames pouring from a first-floor window as crews arrived.
Hartford Fire & Rescue and Hartford Police Department responded together to the scene, according to FOX6 News Milwaukee. Officers helped evacuate residents from the first floor but could not search the second floor because of thick smoke filling the building. One officer grabbed several fire extinguishers in an attempt to slow the flames before additional help arrived.
That is when three residents, unable to escape through the smoke-choked interior, found themselves trapped on the second-floor balcony. They jumped, and officers on the ground caught them, the outlet reported. The fire began in a bedroom of a first-floor apartment before spreading to the building's exterior, the second floor, the soffit and the attic.
Injuries and Hospital Evaluations
Injuries and Hospital Evaluations One person suffered minor injuries but declined hospital treatment. Two police officers were evaluated at the hospital for smoke-related injuries and were released shortly afterward. Hartford Fire & Rescue reported no other injuries connected to the incident, and the fire's underlying cause remains under investigation.
Firefighters pulled 10 pets from the building during the response, while 12 residents were displaced from their homes. The City of Hartford opened a temporary emergency warming shelter inside Hartford City Hall the same day to house displaced residents while emergency services and relief agencies worked on longer-term housing arrangements, according to CBS 58.
A Regional Response Under Mutual Aid
Hartford Fire & Rescue was assisted by the Hartford Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff's Office, St. Lawrence Fire Department, Slinger Fire Department, Neosho Fire Department, Richfield Fire Department, Jackson Fire Department, Lifestar EMS and the Red Cross. The response involved a multi-agency mobilization.
Hartford Fire & Rescue operates as a combination department, staffed by 10 full-time firefighters alongside more than 60 part-time and paid-on-call personnel serving the city and surrounding townships, according to the Washington County Insider. Tony Burgard was named fire chief in early 2024, succeeding Paul Stephans, who retired after 35 years with the department.
Why Overnight Fires Carry Added Risk
National fire data offers context for the risks of an incident breaking out around 1 a.m. About 19% of home structure fires occurred between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. from 2016 to 2020. Many residential fire victims were sleeping.
