An early Sunday morning blaze destroyed a house near the University of Wisconsin campus, leaving a UW-La Crosse student dead and three UW-Madison students with burn injuries. The Madison Fire Department has estimated the fire damages to be more than $100,000.
A passer-by called 911 around 5:35 a.m., reporting flames on the porch of 123 N. Bedford St., according to the fire department. Lori Wirth, spokesperson for MFD, said Madison firefighters arrived at the scene by 5:39 a.m. and took nearly 20 minutes to "really put the flames down."
"We were in our house in bed, and we heard some yelling and the dog started barking," said UW senior Erin Schultz, who lives in the house next to 123 N. Bedford St. "I looked out the window and saw really intense flames and wasn't sure if it was coming from our house or the house next door."
Wirth said MFD is still investigating the cause of the fire. The most damaged part of the house was the front porch, she said, and the three residents left the building through a window near the rear.
"The heat of the fire was enough that it melted some of the side of the house next door," Wirth said.
The Dane County Coroner's office has identified Peter J. Talen, 23, of Plymouth, Wis., as the man whose body was found near the front window of the house near the porch, where MFD currently believes the fire originated. He was declared dead at the scene.
City Council President Mike Verveer said Talen was a UW-La Crosse student who had taken the semester off and was visiting his brother, UW senior Andy Talen, who will be in UW Hospital until Monday.
"It's an unspeakable tragedy," Verveer said. "The lost of a life is an absolute tragedy — incomparable."
The exact cause of Talen's death is still uncertain and will only be released after the coroner's office conducts the appropriate autopsy procedures Monday.
Dean of Students Lori Berquam said the three injured students — two male residents and a female friend — are currently at UW Hospital with their families and will be offered crisis loans and provisional housing from the Red Cross and UW Housing.
"Our students are going to be OK, but it's very tragic," Berquam said.
However, Schultz said when the three UW students left the house "it looked like their hands were pretty badly burned."
The other three residents of 123 N. Bedford St. went to Minnesota for the Badger football game against the University of Minnesota Gophers, Verveer said.
This is the second time this month that UW students have been affected by fire — a Nov. 10 incident on 505 N. Carroll St. destroyed the sixth floor of the seven-story building, leaving 30 student residents without housing.
Verveer said Madison and UW should consider dealing with fire safety issues and hopes this tragedy will serve as a wake-up call for students to take fire safety seriously. He said when touring 123 N. Bedford St. with the investigators early Sunday morning, he noticed no working smoke detectors in the house.
"I just hope that people think twice about their own personal fire safety, including such a minimal thing as having a smoke detector with a working battery in it," Verveer said. "It's really an important thing, and perhaps there wouldn't be a deceased person and three injured in the UW hospital."
