Windy Day Rustles Up Several Calls To Madison Fire

Gusty winds Saturday warranted the attention of the Madison Fire Department throughout the city, mainly for fallen tree limbs taking down wires and causing hazards. Here's a round-up of the calls:
 
1900 block Shelley Lane: Engine 10 and several other crews were called to a home on Shelley Lane at 3:48 p.m. when a very large branch of a front-yard tree fell and landed on the corner of a home, damaging the roof and chimney. Members of the Madison Fire Department’s Heavy Urban Rescue Team who were on scene determined no shoring operations were needed. All residents were out of the house, and no gas or electrical lines were impacted by the downed branch.
 
The area was taped off and Engine 10 remained with the homeowner, who contacted his insurance agency. He said he would stay with a relative until the tree is removed from his roof.
 
A neighboring home also sustained minor damages from the tree’s impact but the resident was not home at the time and could not immediately be reached.
(Photo courtesy: Madison Police Department)
 
1100 block Jenifer Street: A tree took down part of a power line at this location. Engine 3 arrived at 6:59 p.m. and found that the line was actually a cable TV line. All nearby residents still had electrical power. Firefighters removed the cable lines from the street and placed them on the pole for the cable company to repair. Residents were notified of the cable service outage and told to report the outage to their service provider. The tree limb was determined not to be an ongoing hazard.
 
10 block Sherman Ave.: Engine 1 was dispatched for wires down on a vehicle at 6:55 p.m. Firefighters determined that tree branches had pulled the power line onto the car. They secured the area until MGE arrived and took control of scene, securing the power lines.
 
East Gorham/North Blount Streets: Callers reported power lines down at this location—one witness reporting a tree branch was touching the lines and began smoking. Engine 3 found a small tree limb hanging from one wire and touching another wire, but the limb was not smoking. Despite being tangled in the limb, the wires were not at risk of being taken down. MGE was notified of the situation and asked to remove the branch to prevent future arcing.
 
3400 block Kuehling Drive: Originally dispatched for a tree branch arcing on a power line, Engine 5 was advised while en route that the branch had fallen to the ground and was no longer smoking. The homeowner escorted firefighters to the backyard and said the line had been sparking as the branch made contact with it. There were no signs of smoke, fire, or electrical activity as firefighters assessed the scene. Alliant Energy had been contacted and were slated to arrive within two hours to investigate. Engine 5 instructed the homeowner to call 911 again if any electrical or fire activity arose again.
 
1600 block Madison Street: Engine 4 found a tree split in half here at 9:00 p.m. Half of the tree came down, taking some wires with it. The wires turned out to be cable lines, but the tree had fallen in a backyard alleyway, striking a few parked vehicles and causing minor damage. No other hazards were found, and occupants were advised they would have to call their landlord to have the tree, situated on private property, removed.

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