Washington County home completely destroyed by fire

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- A Wisconsin homeowner enjoying a vacation in Texas got some bad news from firefighters in Washington County. Their home, along Highway 175 in St. Lawrence caught fire.

Fire crews spent two hours trying to get the fire under control. Several crews from surrounding counties helped battle the two-alarm blaze.

The single-family home was completely destroyed.

The fire chief said the second floor collapsed into the first, and fire crews had to take quick action to put out the rest of the flames.

"We're actually going to have to take the house down, to get to all the hots spots because of all the damage. We actually had the second floor in the rear of the house actually collapse down to the first floor, so to make it safe for the firefighters we need to actually tear it down," St. Lawrence Fire Chief Gary Karnitz said.

Fire officials say their investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.