April 6, 2026 – Hartford, WI – At approximately 3:18 p.m. on 04/05/2026, Hartford Fire & Rescue responded to the report of a fire inside Quad Graphics, located near W. Sumner and Independence Ave.
A 911 caller reported there was a fire inside building No. 6 next to the presses. The first arriving incident command vehicle found smoke pushing out of an overhead garage door.
A maintenance employee directed fire units to where the fire was located inside of the building. The first arriving engine crew deployed a hose line into the building to gain access to the fire’s location.
The next arriving Hartford truck company set up and prepared to ladder the roof of the building, should vertical ventilation be needed. Additional assistance was requested, due to the size of the building and the amount of smoke, through the MABAS system to the Working Still level.
A sprinkler from the fire suppression system had activated and controlled the fire from spreading any further, allowing the fire to be extinguished by the first arriving engine crew. The area was overhauled to ensure no other fire remained. EMS crews provided rehabilitation efforts to the firefighters as well as staffing an ambulance on scene.
No fire or EMS personnel were injured during this incident. The building did not contain any employees at the time of the fire due to the plant being shut down for the Easter holiday.
An active fire investigation is still underway at the time of this release to determine the cause of the fire. Early estimates of total loss are near $1 million.
Assistance was provided by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with dispatch services and Hartford Police Department with law enforcement assistance. Mutual Aid assistance was provided by St. Lawrence Fire Company and Slinger Fire Department, and a Lifestar Ambulance which provided an EMS unit at change of quarters to cover Hartford’s service area while at the fire.
Lifestar Ambulance responded to a separate EMS incident in the Hartford area from the change of quarters assignment, which occurred during the fire. Hartford Electric Utility and Water Utility, along with WE Energies gas, also assured that there were no utility supply concerns.
