Fire officials say winter, holiday season a busy time for fighting fires

MILWAUKEE -- Fire officials in southeastern Wisconsin have already battled several fires this winter, and they say the holiday season is a busy time of the year, for a number of reasons.

The former Palms Bistro & Bar on N. Broadway St. in Milwaukee's Third Ward was the latest in a string of fires this winter -- some of them fatal. 

Investigators are looking into an apartment fire at 20th and Layton on Christmas Eve, and Mt. Pleasant Police are investigating a fire in a home on 16th Street early Christmas morning as a homicide. 

Later that night, a fire broke out at an apartment complex on Frankie Place in Mt. Pleasant.

Lt. Craig Ford with the Racine Fire Department says his department has had a busy few days as well. 

"A camper fire -- that one is due to a space heater or electric cord, then immediately after that, had a big fire on McKinley Avenue," Lt. Ford said.

Fortunately, the family of four wasn't home at the time, but they lost everything, including Christmas gifts for their two little girls.

Lt. Ford says there has not been a common threat as far as what has caused the fires, but says fire officials do tend to see more of them during the holiday season.

"Unattended cooking across the country is the number one cause of fire. Second is appliances. Third is incendiary -- someone set it, and fourth is candles," Lt. Ford said.

Because the cause can always vary, Lt. Ford reminds people the only sure thing when it comes to a fire is making sure to have working smoke detectors. 

Racine is encouraging new models with batteries that last a decade.

"These are under $20, give or take, so at $2 a year, now you don't have to do what we've always preached, which is when you change the clocks, change your batteries," Lt. Ford said.