Side of a fire truck with the letters MFD
Fire
Chris Carbon, Fire Chief

Downtown Fire That Displaced Six Under Investigation

  • Location

    500 block W. Washington Avenue
    Madison, WI 53703

  • Incident Date

    Dispatch: Sep. 11, 2024 - 4:59am
    Arrival: Sep. 11, 2024 - 5:08am

  • Incident Type

    Structure

43.0701598, -89.391085

This map displays an approximate location.

Updates

Madison Police have located the person of interest related to the fire that occurred at West Johnson Street & State Street. MPD detectives have further confirmed that all three fires that occurred on Wednesday, September 11 were connected. The person of interest remains in police custody. 
 
This still remains an active investigation, and our Fire Investigation Team is working jointly with law enforcement as the investigation progresses.
 
We thank the public for keeping a watchful eye on the neighborhood and assisting our partners at the Madison Police Department in finding this person of interest. We are grateful nobody was hurt in any of these incidents.

Madison Police Department Arson Detectives are seeking the public's help in identifying a person of interest related to the fire that occurred in the area of W. Johnson Street & State Street. Read more from the Madison Police Department. 

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014 or online at p3tips.com. Information may be shared anonymously and could be eligible for a monetary reward if an arrest is made.

--PIO Cynthia Schuster

The two additional downtown-area fires that occurred overnight involved garbage dumpsters. The first was reported on the 200 block of Langdon Street at 4:19 AM. The second was reported near the intersection of West Johnson and State Streets at 4:48 AM. The fire at 507 West Washington Avenue was reported at 4:59 AM. 

Investigators are exploring whether these fires are connected due to their proximity to each other in both time and location.

The investigation remains underway.

--PIO Cynthia Schuster

Incident Details

City of Madison Firefighters were dispatched to a report of a fire on the 500 block of West Washington Avenue.

Neighbors noticed the fire and ran next door to alert the residents of the fire. Smoke alarms were also sounding. Everyone evacuated safely.

As fire crews rolled up to the address, they noticed heavy fire on the back side of the building. The fire traveled up the siding and extended into the eaves, then into the attic.

After the exterior fire was extinguished, crews continued to focus on fighting the fire within the attic. Crews cut open the roof in order to ventilate the smoke and gases from the home. Firefighters continued to look for fire extension, finding none.

Metro transit provided a bus for the residents to keep warm. The American Red Cross assisted six residents with emergency needs. No injuries were reported. Damage is estimated at approximately $500,000.

This fire is part of an active, ongoing investigation into three separate downtown-area fires that occurred within an hour. The other two fires were smaller in nature and did not result in damage to property.

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