Garage damaged after welding-related fire

A garage fire that started at 8728 Jackson Park Blvd. about 7 p.m. Sunday, May 11, tore through the detached garage and destroyed two cars, Wauwatosa Fire Department Deputy Chief Kurt Dressnandt said.

The garage itself was significantly damaged as well. There was no dollar amount for the damage.

A man was welding in the two-car garage when a car caught on fire, Dressnandt said. When he tried to put out the fire, he burned his hand, which he later got treated at the hospital.

There were no other injuries.

Dressnandt said he was the first to arrive on the scene.

The fire had taken down a utility pole and there were live wires on the ground, delaying an aggressive fire fight.

We Energies was called to the scene to clean up the wires, and, Dressnandt said, the department was able to extinguish the fire within an hour, cleaning up and clearing the scene by 9 p.m.