Firefighter mourned in Wis. blast
SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — The massive natural gas explosion that killed a firefighter and leveled portions of a city block in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, last week left residents of the Madison suburb wondering how they’ll put their downtown back together.
“It’s just hard to look at the pictures and see what our city looks like now,” resident Erin Updike said.
The blast happened after police got a call at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday that a construction crew working on a downtown street had punctured a WE Energies natural gas line. Police and firefighters were evacuating the area when the gas exploded shortly after 7 p.m. At least five buildings were damaged.
Verizon Wireless said Thursday it had contracted with Lawrence, Kansas-based Bear Communications for a fiber optics project in Sun Prairie. Bear said in a statement that its subcontractor was working “on site” but gave no other details. Days after the blast, it remained unclear who was responsible for puncturing the main.
Sun Prairie Fire Department Capt. Cory Barr, 34, was caught in the explosion as he was working to evacuate people from the area, Fire Chief Chris Garrison said. Barr had been with the department for 15 years. He also worked as a real estate agent and owned the Barr House tavern, which was destroyed in the blast. Garrison said Barr and his fellow firefighters and police evacuated 115 people before the blast.
The chief choked up as he spoke.
“We didn’t lose a firefighter yesterday,” he said. “We lost a family member.”
Barr’s wife, Abby Barr, said in a statement that Cory Barr was “the best husband a girl could ask for” and lived his life by the motto “happy wife, happy life.” The couple were raising twin daughters who just turned 3 years old. She said the girls would run up to him screaming “Daddy’s home!” whenever he walked through the door.