October 4, 2025 – Hartford, WI – At approximately 1:24 p.m. on October 3, 2025, Hartford Fire & Rescue responded to the report of a barn on fire near the intersection of Clover Road and Badger Road. Heavy smoke could be seen in the sky over a mile away, and additional assistance was requested via the MABAS system.
A 911 caller reported that someone was trying to get into the building to remove equipment. Before arriving on scene, dispatch updated the exact location and address.
The first arriving fire command vehicle found a metal pole barn on fire, and one of two vehicles inside the building was also on fire.
The incident commander deployed a FST (Fire Suppression Tool) to help knock down the fire and slow its growth. An occupant reported that no one was inside the building.
The first arriving engine crew deployed a hose line into the building to rapidly extinguish the fire. The truck crew deployed a second hoseline to the rear of the building to extinguish the fire on the outside of the building.
Mutual aid crews assisted with the overhaul of the building and the vehicle that was on fire. 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, and the occupant was not injured either.
The cause of the fire was related to a burn pit behind the building while the remains of a fire were unattended. It was determined that the occupant had been burning cardboard and other items in a burn pit behind the building earlier in the afternoon.
After going inside of the house, the fire had spread to plastic storage totes outside the building, and then spread into the building as the fire grew in size. This then started one of the vehicles on fire, before a passerby on the road noticed the fire and called 911.
Assistance was provided by Washington County Sheriff’s Office with dispatch services and deputies.
Mutual Aid assistance was provided by St Lawrence Fire Company and Slinger Fire Department, and Lifestar Ambulance which provided an EMS unit at change of quarters to cover Hartford’s service area while at the fire. WE Energies electric and gas also assured that there were no power supply concerns.
Fire & Rescue Chief
