Fire at Palmyra American Legion; memorabilia, rifles saved

PALMYRA, Wis. - Firefighters in Palmyra battled a fire Wednesday morning, May 13, at the local American Legion hall, causing interior damage but sparing important memorabilia and ceremonial rifles from destruction.

What we know:

The Palmyra Public Safety Department said crews were called to the American Legion Thomas Holcomb Post 304 around 11:45 a.m. Officials said it took about 30 minutes to get the flames under control.

No injuries were reported.

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Authorities said the building sustained interior damage, but it was not considered a total loss.

What they're saying:

"Our chief arrived, called that we had a working fire. We quickly upgraded the MABAS system to the box alarm which brings units from all around including the Salvation," said Dylan Callas, deputy fire chief for the Palmyra Fire Department. "We actually had quite the response initially. So we were able to, in tandem, start the fire attack but also help save these memories and everything that were in there."

Crews were able to remove war memorabilia and rifles stored inside the American Legion hall during the response.

"Being a former volunteer firefighter, I know what goes on scene, so we’re all excited to jump in and come out and help, with food and hydration and everything to keep these guys going out here," said Mike Neiman, EDS coordinator for the Salvation Army of Waukesha.

Dale Mitchell, finance officer for the Palmyra American Legion, said firefighters were able to limit smoke damage.

"We didn’t get a lot of smoke damage. The fire department is really good," he said. "They got most of our important stuff out, including our ceremonial rifles and honor guard rifles – they got them all out."

Mitchell, firefighters, Legion members and others helped remove the memorabilia and historical items from inside the building.

"We grabbed everything in the area that we were going to be working and got it out and seamlessly got it working," Callas said.

Dig deeper:

Among the items removed were signs, trophies, framed flags and photographs collected over decades at the American Legion hall.

"These have been up for quite a while and some of the stuff we put up on the board, the black case was for a person who passed away from the post, his wife donated it all when he died, and the rest is memorabilia," Mitchell said.

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Mitchell said the building holds significant meaning for the Palmyra community and many residents quickly stepped in to help preserve its history.

He also said the American Legion still plans to host its Memorial Day celebration despite the fire.

"We will have to cancel the Best Breakfast in Jefferson County for the end of the month, but that's about it," Mitchell said. "Hopefully we get back to business by the end of June."

What we don't know:

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

PalmyraNews