All across Wisconsin, in practically every community of more than 100 people, there’s a downtown district full of cool old buildings just waiting to catch fire and burn.
It happens infrequently, but when it does, it usually ends up being a fire of historic proportions that permanently changes the face of the downtown.
“Just about every downtown in Wisconsin looks the same as ours, and it does pose a significant risk for us,” said De Pere Fire Chief Alan Matzke.
There’s a Mabel Murphy-sized hole in Oshkosh’s downtown, courtesy of a fire May 7 that took out the 130-year-old building and popular 45-year-old tavern. Just months earlier, a three-store-front vacant building, also more than 100 years old, at 145-147 High St., burned to the ground.