No injuries reported; cause unknown

For the Tomahawk Leader

TRIPOLI – No one was injured in a fire that destroyed the BP gas station and Tripoli Propane building in Tripoli on Monday, Jan. 16.

According to a post on the Tomahawk Fire Department’s Facebook page, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office dispatched the department to the building, located at W11069 U.S. Hwy. 8 in Tripoli, around 4:01 a.m., after a report that smoke was coming from the structure.

Upon arrival, responders discovered heavy smoke toward the building’s roof line.

Automatic mutual aid was dispatched from the Nokomis Fire Department for a full response, the post said. Response from the Tomahawk Fire Department included Engine 3, Engine 5, Rescue 1 and Tender 6.

“Upon arrival of Tomahawk Engine 3, firefighters began an initial interior attack, but ended up exiting the structure as it was quickly becoming unstable and unsafe for interior fire operations,” the post stated.

Due to the size and growing complexity of the fire, command upgraded the response as part of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS), used for deploying fire, rescue and emergency medical services personnel in a multi-jurisdictional and/or multi-agency response.

Responding departments included the Little Rice Fire and Emergency Support Unit, Prentice Fire, Crescent Fire, Corning Fire, Rhinelander Fire, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Tomahawk EMS.

Hazelhurst Fire was requested for a change of quarters and responded to the Nokomis Fire Department for standby, and Merrill EMS also stood by in Tomahawk for a short period of time for EMS coverage, the post said.

Ladder 1 from Rhinelander Fire was utilized to the access the roof and areas of the building that were unreachable by firefighters, and an excavator was used to clear parts of the building.

“The Lincoln County Highway Department assisted throughout the incident in keeping U.S. Hwy 8 sanded and salted, which helped to prevent the highway from having to be closed at any point,” the post stated.

The cause of the fire was unknown as of Monday, Jan. 16, but did not appear to be suspicious, according to the Tomahawk Fire Department. No injuries were reported.

Fire units were on the scene for about eight hours, departing at approximately 12 p.m.

In the post, Tomahawk Fire Department Chief Paul Winter thanked the various responding departments and resources.

“This was a collective effort between Lincoln County MABAS Division 155, Oneida County Division 114 and Price County Division 149,” Winter stated. “In incidents like this, a pre-planned, collaborative response through the MABAS system leads to a smooth and safe response for all involved.”