20 people spend night in shelter after fire guts Arcadia building

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About 20 people spent the night at a Red Cross shelter, after their apartment building in Arcadia was destroyed by fire Monday afternoon.

Firefighters from eight departments fought wind chills of 30 below zero to battle the blaze in a two-story downtown building that used to be a hotel.

Everyone was evacuated safely and no one was hurt. All but one of the 13 apartments was occupied at the time.

A maintenance worker saw smoke coming from the roof about 1 p.m. and flames erupted moments later.

It took about 3.5 hours to get the blaze under control, but officials said parts of the building were razed to put out interior fires.

Authorities have not determined what caused the fire.

The building’s owner said it was electrical and it might have started in the attic.

Tags: wisconsin news, arcadia, apartment, fire