A fire has heavily damaged if not destroyed the offices of the Kenosha Education Association, the union that represents Kenosha Unified teachers and other employees.
Firefighters were called to the building at 5610 55th St. at around 3:30 Friday morning, according to Battalion Chief Matt Haerter. Firefighters discovered a "substantial" fire inside the building which Haerter said had begun outside. He didn't elaborate.
Haerter said they thought they had it under control within minutes, but then they discovered that it had spread to the attic. Firefighters were unable to gain full access to the attic because of its unusual design and remodeling, and that's when the flames eventually spread throughout the roof area, shooting flames for at least two hours.
As firefighters from the city, Pleasant Prairie and Bristol fought to gain control, Haerter, speaking to reporters just before six, didn't elaborate on the fire's origins. He said investigators were already on the scene.
Greg DeAngelis watched his long-time, part-time custodial job go up in flames. He said he worked a normal shift Thursday. He and other employees left the building with everything seemingly intact at about 5:30.
Another KEA employee was at the scene, but she left after awhile because she was so upset, DeAngelis said.
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