The area's unrelenting deep freeze caused problems for firefighters who battled a severe house fire Monday and for the family left homeless as a result.
In a nearly six-hour effort in the frigid cold beginning at about 2:45 p.m., firefighters poured water on the stubborn blaze, which officials believe may have sprung from a wood-burning fireplace, on Oakdale Drive south of Lawnsdale Road in the village of Waukesha.
The single-digit temperatures were a factor.
One firefighter sustained a minor injury in what officials attributed to icy conditions. The family had safely evacuated before rescue workers arrived, but was forced to seek shelter elsewhere after the blaze caused "extreme damage" to both floors, according to information released Tuesday by the Village of Waukesha Fire Department.