Fire Damages $51M Public Works Building Under Construction in Wisconsin

Emergency Response Fire Damages $51M Public Works Building Under Construction in Wisconsin Construction of the 223,000-sq-ft structure started in 2024 and is slated for completion this year. Two buildings under construction, including one that was nearly complete, were damaged by fires this week in Wisconsin. Damage is being assessed after the roof of a $51-million Dept. of Public Works building in West Allis, Wis., part of a planned $85-million, three-building complex, caught fire Aug. 20. The building had been scheduled to open this fall, but the impact on a new date has not been determined. The project contractor is VJS Construction Services of Pewaukee, Wis. In a separate incident on Aug. 19, fire damaged a porch at Henni Hall, part of a $75-million renovation project by contractor Hunzinger Construction Co. at the 170-year-old Saint Francis de Sales Seminary in St. Francis, Wis., about eight miles from Milwaukee. No one was harmed in either fire. The blaze at the public works department construction site at 1906 S. 53rd St., occurred at about 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 20, the city reports. Workers on the roof were seen running from the roof as the fire blazed and emitted stories-high plumes of black smoke. West Allis reports that its fire department units arrived within three minutes of the fire being reported and the incident was escalated to a three-alarm response, prompting assistance from neighboring agencies. The fire was contained by the afternoon and investigators were on-site to determine the cause as well as the damage, the city says. The 233,000-sq-ft building is planned to house the public works department garage and about 170 employees. Construction began in 2024. It is part of a planned 370,000 sq-ft complex. Lindsay Schiller, director of marketing for VJS Construction Services, declined to comment on the fire except to say the company is cooperating with the investigation. Hunzinger Construction Co. did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the seminary fire in St. Francis.