A Late Night House Fire Takes The Life Of A Superior Man

The Superior Fire Department has confirmed there were no working smoke or carbon monoxide detectors in the home at the time of the fire.

SUPERIOR, Wis. – A 52-year-old man is dead after his home on East Second Street in Superior was swallowed in smoke and flames late Tuesday evening.

The Superior Fire Department has confirmed there were no working smoke or carbon monoxide detectors in the home at the time of the fire.

Shortly after 10 p.m. on Tuesday fire crews were alerted about the fire by someone passing by the scene who noticed smoke coming from the area of the home.

The initial call reported the incident as mild.

Also, crews did not have an exact location, which created a longer response time.

When the Superior Fire Department did arrive at the home a neighbor informed them a man lived there and his car was still in the driveway.

While working to put out the fire crews entered the home for search and recovery.

They located the man immediately.

CPR was performed on him, but the life-saving efforts were unsuccessful.

“He was very nice, very friendly, very kind and I just feel terrible. I hate when a fire takes away people’s homes and lives,” said neighbor Mary Vukelich. “I’m sorry to his family and anyone else known to him.”

This year, the Superior Fire Department has a younger crew than in year’s past.

For many of those firefighters, this fatal incident is a first for them.

The fire chief has a few words for his young team.

“Remember it. I remember my first fatality 27 years ago. I still remember it. We didn’t have much stress debriefing back then, which is why I remember it,” said Fire Chief Scott Gordon. “We still have jobs to do but more importantly we have lives to lead away from here.

All firefighters involved will go through a mental health debriefing to help them cope with the incident.

The fire was originally contained fairly quickly, but when crews conducted the search for the man is when the fire became larger.

The fire department battled the fire for about three hours.

It has been confirmed the man was the only one living in the home at the time.

Fortunately, no firefighters were injured while attempting to put out the fire.

The home is considered a total loss.

The Wisconsin State Fire Marshall has been on the scene helping assist in the investigation.

The Superior Fire department is urging folks to make sure they have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in their home.

If you are a resident of Douglas County or Northern Minnesota the Red Cross will install one free of charge.

For more information about scheduling an appointment to have the device installed click here or call 218-722-0071.