Cigarette, Electrical Issue Possible Causes of Townhouse Fire

The exact cause of a night is still undetermined, though it was either due to a cigarette or an electrical issue, according to the Ozaukee County Sherrif's Department.

Emergency personnel evacuated the adjacent townhouses connected to the building where the fire started — at 1969 Port Washington Road (Highway 32) — as smoke spilled out a second-floor bedroom window, the department said in a press release.

A 17-year-old girl, the daughter of the resident who lived in the home, had been smoking a cigarette about 15 to 20 minutes before the fire started, the release said. The way in which she extinguished the cigarette could have started the fire.

If not, the Grafton Fire Department believes it was an electrical issue.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the fire at 5:53 p.m. Monday. The Port Washington, Saukville and Mequon fire departments assisted Grafton with the incident, and the Grafton Fire Department investigated the fire, the release said. Fredonia and Cedarburg vehicles also were on scene.

We Energies was called to the scene to turn off the gas so that the fire departments could continue to fight the fire without worrying about something fueling the blaze, We Energies officials said.

No one was injured in the fire, and a cost estimate of the damage — which law enforcement officials classify as "extensive" — is not yet available.