‘You could see the flames coming down the street’

An early morning fire Sunday has left a Port Washington couple temporarily homeless as neighbors and friends rally to help them.

Emergency crews were called to a garage fire on Terrace Drive on Port’s north side shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday.

The garage “was gone before we got there,” Fire Chief Joe DeBoer said, noting firefighters were on the scene within 10  minutes of being dispatched. “By the time the Police Department got there, there were flames out the sides and back of the garage.

“You could see the flames coming down the street.”

The couple, identified by friends as Pat and Wendy McDonald, were out of the house by the time police arrived, DeBoer said.

DeBoer said the McDonalds discovered the fire when their dogs were acting up and they went to investigate. When they opened the door to the garage “a bunch of black smoke came rolling in and the smoke alarm went off,” he said.

The couple took their dogs and left, moving their vehicles from the driveway and then tried to extinguish the fire with a garden hose while waiting for emergency crews, DeBoer said.

Half the firefighters checked the house for any remaining occupants while the others worked to knock down the blaze, he said. By 1:45 a.m. the fire was under control.

The fire wall between the garage and house “did a very, very good job,” DeBoer said, noting the fire only got about 10 feet into the home.

Firefighters had to cut into the roof to ensure fire hadn’t spread into the structure, he said, noting that before it was extinguished the flames were “through the roof and out all three sides of the garage.”

Neighbors were evacuated during the firefighting operation.

DeBoer said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

“There’s nothing that would indicate foul play right now,” he said.

No one was injured, he added.

Fire crews from Belgium, Cedarburg, Fredonia, Ozaukee Central, Jackson and  Waubeka aided the department, and the Port and Saukville police departments, Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office and We Energies also responded.

Neighbors have started a GoFundMe page to help the McDonalds.

“Pat and Wendy have been our neighbors on Terrace Drive in Port Washington for over 20 years. They are more than just neighbors — they are family to so many of us in this community. Their kindness, generosity and unwavering support have touched countless lives, and now it’s our turn to rally around them in their time of need,” the page reads.  More than $25,000 had been pledged as of Tuesday night.

To contribute to the GoFundMe page, visit https://tinyurl.com/dnzj6sru.