July 5, 2025 – Hartford, WI – At approximately 11:30 p.m. on July 4, 2025, Hartford Fire & Rescue responded to Rincon Apartments on North Main Street for the report of fire on the roof.
Hartford Police Department was in the area and reported seeing flames coming from the roof and requested an immediate fire response. The police officers took several fire extinguishers into the building, went to the roof, and were able to extinguish the fire.
The first arriving command vehicle found smoke still coming from the roof of the building, but no fire alarm was active and no occupants were evacuating. Mutual aid was requested utilizing the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS), both to assist with the fire in case it grew and to obtain additional ambulances.
Hartford Police officers began evacuating occupants from their apartments on the 5th floor and working their way down toward ground level.
The first arriving engine crew and ladder truck crew utilized a nearby hydrant to feed water into the building’s fire suppression system to supply water for the fire suppression operations, and manually activated the building’s fire alarm system to notify and help evacuate remaining occupants in the building. A hose line was stretched from the 5th floor to the roof to complete the extinguishment of the remaining smoldering fire.
Fire and EMS assisted with removing several occupants from the building who were non-ambulatory and unable to utilize the elevator. The apartment directly below the fire was checked to ensure that the fire had not spread into the ceiling of that unit.
Overhaul was completed on the roof to remove all charred and smoldering roofing materials from the burned area. EMS crews assessed one patient, but did not require transport to a hospital, and provided rehabilitation efforts to the firefighters.
No fire or EMS personnel were injured during this incident. Due to the efforts of all those on scene, the impacted area was isolated to just a portion of the roof, and minor water damage to one apartment. Assistance was provided by: Hartford Police Department and Washington County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch.
Mutual aid assistance was provided through MABAS by: St Lawrence Fire Company, Lifestar Ambulance, Slinger Fire Department, Jackson Fire Department, and Neosho Fire Department.
All other departments were released from the scene and returned to their stations at approximately 1 a.m.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation as of this press release, but it is related to consumer fireworks being discharged into the air from nearby.
Hartford Fire & Rescue and a mutual aid engine also responded to a fire in a dumpster on Wheelock Avenue during this same time frame.