Washington County: Several crews respond to fire on Highway 83 in Hartford

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- The Washington County Sheriff's Office responded to a fire that took place on Highway 83, just south of Lee Road in Hartford early Saturday, May 20th.

The sheriff's office says shortly after 5 a.m., they received a report of smoke coming from a residence on Highway 83. Upon arrival, officials discovered a residence fully engulfed and heavy smoke coming from a 16-unit garage structure at the Oriole Pond Apartments.

The fire was upgraded to a MABAS call. Fire departments from Slinger, Richfield, Woodland, St. Lawrence, Allenton, Germantown and an ambulance from Lifestar Rescue responded.

The fires were extinguished shortly after 6 a.m., officials say. The garage and contents at the residence suffered severe damage; including a vehicle which is a total loss.

Officials say the apartment complex is new construction so there are no tenants. There were three garage units damaged as a result of the fire. Due to the close geographic nature and time frame of these fires the sheriff’s office paged in two detectives; one of which is a fire investigator.

Hartford Police Department also contacted one of their Detectives who is also a fire investigator. The Detectives are working together on these scenes and will be assisted by the State Fire Marshal who was requested to respond.

At this time there is no damage estimate available and there is no further information being released.