Waukesha fire, Oscar's Frozen Custard destroyed: 'We were in shock'
WAUKESHA, Wis. - Fire destroyed Oscar's Frozen Custard in Waukesha early Tuesday morning, Nov. 19.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found flames coming from the roof. The structure is a complete loss, according to the town of Brookfield Fire Department.
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"I couldn't believe it," co-owner Susie Taylor said. "We were in shock last night when we saw the fire trucks and the flames burning in front of our eyes."
The call came in shortly after midnight, about an hour after everyone left the building. The fire department said a passerby noticed flames and called 911. It took 90 minutes to get it under control.
"The fire was mainly a defensive fire, because of the extent of the fire coming into the roof. It’s just really unsafe for the firefighters to go inside and extinguish the fire that way," said Town of Brookfield Fire Chief John Schilling.
Seven other fire departments from Waukesha County assisted at the scene. One firefighter was treated for minor injuries and has since been released from the hospital.
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Taylor and her family own two other Oscar's locations. The location in Waukesha is 33 years old.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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Oscar's Frozen Custard & Sandwiches statement:
"It is with profound sadness that we are posting today about the loss of our beloved Brookfield Location. As most of you already know the building was ravaged by fire early this morning - at this time we have no further details to share as to how the fire started, we are happy to provide more information on that side of things when we have more. At this moment, what stands out as the most important part of this tragedy is that it happened without injury to anyone - thank goodness no one was in the building. We are incredibly thankful to the emergency crews that responded to fight the fire and equally thankful that none were hurt in the process. The Taylor Family wishes to thank each and every one of you for your kind words, your prayers and your well wishes. We are a bit shaken this morning but rest assured we will be back! Please continue to support us by visiting our West Allis and Franklin locations - we will keep you posted on what's next for our Waukesha location. Thank you all so very much."