Home deemed a total loss

TOWN OF WESTON – Elmwood Fire responded to a house fire at N4650 110th St., Menomonie, in which two dogs died late Saturday afternoon. The home was deemed a total loss, with walls caving in shortly after crews’ arrival.

Elmwood Fire Chief Collin Gilles said no one was inside the single-family home, located in a remote area north of Elmwood near Weston, at the time the fire started. The cause is under investigation.

Gilles said the homeowner was in another farm building when he came out and noticed smoke coming from the house. Dunn County property tax records list the owners as Tom and Angel Neubauer.

“The structure was fully engulfed when crews arrived with flames exiting heavily from every window,” Gilles said. “Due to the remote nature of the area we had tenders (water trucks) from Spring Valley Fire, Menomonie Fire, Durand Fire, United Fire, Ellsworth Fire, and Glenwood City Fire. We also requested assistance with manpower from Spring Valley and Menomonie initially and later Durand Fire was requested to assist with more manpower.”

Crews were on the scene for about five hours, Gilles said. They were able to keep the fire from spreading to other buildings. The family is displaced but has another home they can occupy for the time being. According to the family’s Gofundme page, organized by family friend Beverly Boyer, Tom Neubauer had just celebrated his last chemo treatment the day before. The fundraising page can be found on Gofundme under the title “Tom & Angel Neubauer Home Fire.”

With temperatures hovering near zero, Gilles said cold weather always presents a challenge when fighting a fire.

“The cold weather is always challenging with running water and our pumps and crews getting cold, but all went well,” Gilles said. “We have one aging truck that had experienced two failures but were remedied by crews on scene. Rural roads and remote areas are always more challenging to get crews to this type of scene in a timely fashion and to continue supplying enough water needed for a house fire.”

The Weston Township plow truck was also on scene for several hours sanding the roads so tenders could turn around safely.