3-19-18 beaver dam fire chief thanks area departments for assistance

The Beaver Dam Fire chief is praising area fire departments for assisting during the controlled fire last week that burned down a Beaver Dam apartment complex where a fatal explosion occurred the week before.   About 20 area fire departments including Fond du Lac,  Waupun and Ripon were on the scene last week.  Beaver Dam Fire Chief Allen Mannel admits he was nervous, not knowing how dangerous chemicals  in one of the apartment units would react to the heat and flames.  Mannel says to his knowledge this type of controlled burn to neutralize explosive materials had only been done once before in southern California in 2010.  Mannel says the deicision was made to protect a nearby building by stacking metal storage containers between it and the building that was being burned.