Waterford fire caused by child with lighter

BY MARCI LAEHR TENUTA
Journal Times

Wednesday, May 21, 2008 11:25 PM CDT

WATERFORD — The 5-alarm fire that destroyed a historic village building last week was caused by a child playing with a lighter, the Racine County Fire Investigation Task Force has determined.

On the afternoon of May 12 personnel from numerous fire, rescue and law enforcement agencies were called to the building at 111 S. Second St. for a fire that began in a second story apartment. It took hours for firefighters to extinguish the flames, during which two firefighters were treated for medical reasons.

Residents of the apartments were displaced, and damage to the structure was extensive. The two-story building housed a dog grooming business on the first floor commercial space and apartments above.

The historic building used to be Noll’s Bank.

A report from the Racine County Sheriff’s Department, detailed what happened in the minutes before the fire was reported.

It said Samantha Lockwood, a resident of one of the apartments, told deputies she was home with her children — a 5-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter, and an 18-year-old friend the night before. She went to sleep around 2:30 a.m. with her son in the bed with her.

Lockwood told deputies she woke up that Monday afternoon to see her son carrying a pot of water. He told her he was going to save her, the report said.

It was then that Lockwood saw the flames coming from the end of the bed she was sleeping on. She apparently tried to put the fire out with an extinguisher, but was unsuccessful.

All the residents of the apartments in the building then evacuated.

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