What was normally a one-alarm fire Wednesday night in De Pere required response from six surrounding fire departments because of the extreme cold, officials say.
De Pere Fire Chief Alan Matzke says firefighters work shifts were halved from 10-20 minutes to 5-10 minute intervals as they dealt with icy conditions on a bitter cold winter night as they doused a two-story wood-frame apartment complex at 833 Ash St. While extreme heat and cold can complicate fire response efforts, Matzke says winter conditions are undoubtedly worse for responders.
"Things just don't go right for us," Matzke said. "We were fortunate last night. We didn't have equipment failures. We didn't have hose failures, but typically that's when we're expecting it. We're expecting the worst in those situations."