Burst pipe saves Sparta businesses from further fire damage

SPARTA, Wis. (WKBT) — The Sparta Area Fire District fire chief, Mike Arnold, said they received a call at 7:12 a.m about a fire in the basement of downtown business Keps Kids. He believes the fire was started by an electrical issue.

Fire Chief Arnold said that the fire was heading up the stairwell when it melted plumping pipes, and the water released from the pipes helped contain the fire until firefighter arrived. He said it only took about 10 minutes to put out the fire but extracting smoke out of buildings after a fire like this can be a challenge, especially when there’s aren’t many windows to help with ventilation.

Residents of seven upstairs apartments had to be evacuated for about 2.5 hours while firefighters extracted the smoke from the affected buildings, according to Fire Chief Arnold.

The upstairs of Keps Kids suffered moderate smoke damage, as did Keps Naturals next door and the upstairs apartments, according to Fire Chief Arnold. He said nearby business Search and Find LLC. had minor smoke damage from the fire.

Fire Chief Arnold said Keps Kids and Keps Naturals are closed, but search and Find was able to open again after the fire was dealt with.

The Sparta Police Department and Sparta Ambulance Service also responded to the fire

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