Barn destroyed in blaze but fire departments save nearby house Monday evening in Lawrence

LAWRENCE - A house was saved from a fire that destroyed a barn Monday evening, thanks to the quick action of area fire departments, said Lawrence Fire Chief Kurt Minten.

Some personnel from the Wrightstown Fire Department saw smoke on Monday as they were traveling to the Lawrence Fire Department to pick up some equipment, Minten said.

First responders alerted a nearby family and were dispatched about 7:30 a.m. to the fire at Lawrence Drive near Hickory Road. Police shut down that intersection and surrounding streets until around 10:30 p.m., according to a Hobart/Lawrence Police Department Facebook post.

The barn could not be saved. It was mostly empty and used for storage as the property owners had retired from farming several years ago, Minten said.

A nearby house "probably should have burned down," Minten said, because it was close to the barn. However, the fire department was hosting a training, so they had enough personnel for a robust initial response, he said.

The large number of fire crews and trucks on the scene made saving the house possible, Minten said. The department said fire crews from De Pere, Hobart and Wrightstown, as well as over a dozen others, assisted them.

A number of nearby residents helped, too, by bringing the first responders water and Gatorade, according to the Hobart / Lawrence Police Department.

Investigators are still determining total losses for the barn. No injuries were reported, and Minten said that the house was spared from all damage besides a loss of power.

A cause has not been determined.

Contact Rebecca Loroff at 920-907-7801 or rloroff@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at 

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Fire destroys Lawrence barn Monday, but firefighters save nearby house