Home destroyed by fire, hydrant lines were frozen

MILWAUKEE -- A home on Milwaukee's south side was destroyed by a fire on Saturday afternoon. It happened in the 2200 block of S. Muskego Ave., near Forest Home Ave.

According to fire officials at the scene, the fire started in the third floor attic area of the building. When the Milwaukee Fire Department arrived on scene, the first three hydrants they tried to use were frozen.

Firefighters managed to get the fourth hydrant, two blocks away, to work, but that allowed  the fire to spread to the second and first floors of the building. "That's unusual. We normally don't run into that, but we did and our folks did a nice job overcoming that," Deputy Chief Jack Christianson with the Milwaukee Fire Department said at the scene.

Five people who live in the home were able to get out safely with their pets. However, they lost everything else that was in the home.

The fire is under investigation by Milwaukee police.