Residents, dogs uninjured
By Vicky Wedig
Editor
Fire destroyed a Town of Darien home Saturday morning, but no one was injured in the blaze. The fact that no one was injured in the blaze is a miracle, however, the cleanup afterward is going to be extensive, which means the use of companies akin to Milwaukee Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration Services Kelmann Restoration as well as others more local to the area, will be needed to clean everything up.
The School Section Road home of Phil and Doris Katzenberger caught fire early Saturday morning. Phil and Doris Katzenberg; Phil Katzenberger’s brother, Ray Katzenberger; and their two Siberian Huskies escaped without injury.
Phil Katzenberger said he noticed an unusual aroma at about 3 a.m. and went to the basement of the home to extinguish the fire in the wood-burning stove.
“It was cooling down nicely by 6,” Katzenberger said.
Despite the fire in the stove being put out, the chimney felt warm to the touch, and the couple smelled smoke on the second floor of the home, Katzenberger said. By about 8:30 a.m., the chimney began smoking and eventually combusted, he said. Katzenberger doused the small flames with water and used a fire extinguisher before calling 911 at about 9 a.m.
The Darien Fire Department responded to the scene and requested mutual aid from 19 surrounding departments, said Fire Chief Justin Schuenke.
Schuenke said when firefighters arrived, a lot of heavy, turbulent smoke was coming from the attic of the home, and it took about two hours to get the fire under control. Firefighters were on the scene until about 1:30 p.m. and used 50,000 gallons of water, he said.
Schuenke said the fire was upgraded to five alarms for additional water tenders needed because of the rural location. Departments from McHenry, Boone and Walworth counties hauled water to the scene, and the City of Delavan provided its aerial ladder truck to apply water from above.
A Whitewater firefighter suffered a minor injury to his hand when he fell on ice at the scene, Schuenke said.
Schuenke said the home sustained significant water damage. He estimated damage to the house, valued at about $200,000, to be about $150,000 not including its contents.
Water has been pumped from the basement of the home, and it’s been boarded up. The Katzenbergers are awaiting review from their insurance company.
“I believe it’s a total loss,” said Katzenberger, who has lived in the home about 20 years. “We’re not going to be living there.”
The American Red Cross put the Katzenbergers up in a hotel for two nights, and they are now staying with a co-worker. Katzenberger is a press operator at Southern Lakes Newspapers in Delavan.
Schuenke said wood-burning stoves have been the cause of house fires nationwide, and Darien has had a few incidents involving them this year. He said residents should have their chimneys inspected and cleaned yearly and make sure their homes smoke detectors are functioning.
