Teenager remains in hospital after Port house fire

A 15-year-old boy who was trapped in his Port Washington house when it caught fire early Thursday, April 16, remained  hospitalized earlier this week.

  Firefighters arrived at the house at 315 W. Jefferson St. about five minutes after they received the 911 call at 5 a.m., Fire Chief Joe DeBoer said. Three minutes later, they had rescued the teen, who was taken by ambulance to Aurora Medical Center in Grafton and then Children’s Wisconsin hospital in Milwaukee, where he is being treated for smoke inhalation.

“They were able to get a ladder up and help him get out of the window,” DeBoer said.

The teen, he said, was unable to escape the house because the fire cut him off from the stairs leading to the first floor.

DeBoer said police had attempted to enter the house when they arrived but were unable to due to heavy smoke.

The teen’s family — his parents and younger brother — were out of the house when firefighters arrived.

DeBoer said that by 5:18 a.m. the fire was under control.

DeBoer said he does not know the amount of damage to the house but said most of it was isolated to the second floor.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

DeBoer noted that when firefighters entered the house, no smoke detectors were sounding.

The teen, he said, had alerted his family, who were on the first floor of the house, to the fire.

“He saw the fire and yelled to his family,” DeBoer said.

The incident serves as a lesson in the importance of having working smoke detectors, he said.

“It’s super important to make sure you have a working smoke detector on every level of the house outside the bedrooms,” DeBoer said. “Fire can go from small flames to flashing over in three to five minutes.”

Smoke and toxic gases often pose a greater threat than flames, he added.

DeBoer noted that the fire department and the Port Washington Fire/EMS Association has a smoke detector outreach program that will provide and install detectors at no cost for homeowners in the city and town of Port Washington.

To qualify, homeowners must have a physical limitation or disability that prevents them from installing or maintaining a smoke detector or cannot afford detectors or who need assistance determining the proper placement and installation of a smoke detector.

For more information, visit www.pwfd.org/outreach.

DeBoer credited the fact the fire department has personnel at the firehouse full-time for the positive outcome.

“A couple of years ago I think the outcome might have been potentially different,” he said. “Thanks to the referendum (funding the full-time staff members), all those trained firefighters were in the station. That’s what got the engine out so fast.

“It’s a little crazy to think they went from sleeping to rescuing someone in eight minutes.”

In addition to the Port Fire Department, the Belgium, Cedarburg, Fredonia, Ozaukee Central and Waubeka fire departments responded to the fire, along with the Port Police Department, Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Department and We Energies.