Apartment uninhabitable, 3 units damaged from fire in Harvard

Three people and an infant were displaced from an apartment after a fire caused heavy smoke damage Wednesday morning in Harvard, officials reported.

The Harvard Fire Protection District responded to a call at 5:47 a.m. Wednesday in the 1100 block of Ninth Street for a reported apartment fire. First responders arrived to “heavy smoke and flames coming from a first-floor apartment unit,” district public information officer Alex Vucha said in a news release.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the bulk of the fire within three minutes by deploying a hose line to a window. Crews then entered the unit to put out remaining hotspots. The fire damage was contained to the kitchen, but heavy smoke damaged the entire unit and all personal belongings, Vucha said in the release.

The apartment unit was deemed uninhabitable, and the three adults and infant who lived there are receiving help from the American Red Cross. The building’s three other units sustained minor smoke damage but still are habitable once utilities are restored, Vucha said in the release.

No one was home at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported. The cause is under investigation by the Harvard Fire Protection District, Vucha said.

The apartment building did not have a central sprinkler or smoke alarm system, but individual battery-operated smoke detectors were activated, Vucha said in the release.

“This incident serves as a reminder of the importance of working smoke detectors in every home,” Vucha said. “The Harvard Fire Protection District encourages residents to test their smoke alarms monthly, replace batteries as needed, and install alarms in every sleeping area and on every level of their home.”

The Harvard Police Department, Capron Rescue Squad and fire protection districts from Huntley, Marengo, Union, Woodstock and Sharon, Wisconsin, assisted during the fire.