Community steps up to help residents of Genoa City apartment building
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
Investigators believe an errant cigarette butt caused a five-alarm blaze and displaced 12 people in the Village of Genoa City on Jan. 5.
The fire, according to Genoa City Fire Chief Jeff Schalow, resulted in significant damage to the eight-unit apartment building at 751 Walworth St.
“The cause was determined to be smoking,” said Schalow.
“There was substantial damage along with smoke and water, so the building is uninhabitable,” he added. “I am not sure if they are going to tear it down, but we are considering it a total loss because nobody at this time can live in it.”
Schalow, who reports the fire happened shortly before 9 a.m., indicated the American Red Cross and First Congregational UCC of Genoa City responded to the needs of displaced residents.
First Congregational UCC, meanwhile, extended thanks to residents who contributed to relief efforts on its Facebook page.
“Our greatest and most heartfelt thanks go out to all who donated, served, helped, encouraged, prayed, participated and joined in the relief efforts of the last seven days,” the church wrote on Jan. 12. “Our lives have been forever changed by the ministry, and we showed the world what a community can do when we come together for the good of God’s beloved, and we are all God’s beloved people.”
The church remained open during business hours last week and offered blankets, clothing and nonperishable food items to families affected by the fire.
While the church has completed its clothing and food drive, it is still reportedly receiving gift cards, which will be distributed to displaced residents.
Knocking on doors
The first call came in around 8:55 a.m., according to Schalow, who reported a Genoa City police officer and bystander immediately assisted residents.
The police officer with assistance from the bystander entered the building and began knocking on doors telling residents to evacuate.
“They ended up getting everybody out of the building,” Schalow said.
With residents outside, firefighters from dozens of agencies, including some from Illinois battled the fire.
Schalow said there were challenges, including the need for more assistance, as well as a neighboring apartment building.
“The challenges were the need for manpower and nearby structures,” he said. “There was another apartment building next to it and did not sustain any damage at all.”
However, there were minor injuries, but both were treated either on the scene or at the hospital and released on the same day.
“There was one injury to a firefighter and then one resident was transported to a hospital as a precaution just to be checked out,” he said.
The last unit cleared the scene shortly before 2 p.m. he said.
Multiple agencies respond
The Genoa City Fire Department received assistance from 19 agencies.
Walworth County agencies responding to the blaze were City of Elkhorn, City of Lake Geneva, Town of Linn, Village of Sharon, Village of Williams Bay, City of Delavan, Town of Delavan, Town of Lyons and Fontana.
The Village of Twin Lakes, Town of Randall, Village of Salem Lakes and Town of Wheatland came from Kenosha County.
In Racine County, the city and town and Burlington as well as Rochester Volunteer Fire Company also responded, as did four departments from Illinois, according to Schalow.
Illinois departments were the Village of Richmond, Hebron-Alden-Greenwood Fire Protection District, City of Woodstock and Village of Spring Grove.
Door remains open
First Congregational UCC reiterated its mission to help the community.
“This is a community church, and it belongs to all of us. We are all a part of it. Each of you is welcome here,” the church states on its Facebook page.
