Fire swept through a Brookfield home the morning of Feb. 18, causing extensive damage to the structure and the contents of the building.
Brookfield firefighters were called to 4116 Sunnyside Ave. at about 6:25 a.m. and arrived within three minutes to find heavy smoke pouring from all sides of the split-level home, said Capt. Edward Bermann.
Three adults inside the home had evacuated prior to fire personnel arriving, said Bermann. No one was injured. A report that a firefighter had slid off of the building’s roof while battling the blaze appears to be unfounded.
“There were no injuries to any of the occupants, pets or firefighters,” said Bermann.
The fire was extensive enough that more than a dozen neighboring fire agencies responded to the scene, blocking a portion of eastbound Ogden Avenue during the morning rush hour. The main staging area was located in the Citibank parking lot at the corner of Ogden and Sunnyside.
Many fire vehicles parked on Ogden Avenue instead of trying to navigate the narrow, snow-covered street. One fire vehicle had to go around the block in order to get to the house, said Bermann, and a fire vehicle struck one parked car in the 4200 block of Sunnyside Avenue while trying to respond.
The cause of the blaze is unknown, said Bermann, but it appears to have started in the basement and worked its way up through the walls.
“The damage to the interior of the structure was pretty extensive,” said Bermann, who noted that a good portion of the dining room floor had burned away.
Firefighters were on the scene for about three hours.
—Bob Uphues
