Despite being nearly two hours away from a fire in Combined Locks, Wis. over the weekend, you would have still seen Door County firefighters on the scene. For the first time in Door County history, MABAS Division 154, made up of fire departments from Southern Door, Brussels-Union-Gardner, Sturgeon Bay, Southern Door, Egg Harbor, Sister Bay/Liberty Grove, and Gibraltar, sent crews to the large warehouse fire that took 24 hours to control. Led by Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Chief Chris Hecht and Gibraltar Fire Chief Andy Bertges, the firefighters supported the effort by doing fill site work and fire ground pumping, among other tasks. Hecht says it was a unique experience but an important one for their firefighters to get.

According to the Combined Locks Public Safety Department, the multi-day event was sparked by some paper pulp bales catching fire. More than 60 departments from several counties, including Door, Wood, and Sheboygan, were called in for assistance.

Picture courtesy of Southern Door FIre Department