Vehicle declared total loss after north side fire

By Brandi Makuski

A contractor’s vehicle has been declared a total loss following a fire behind Pete’s Sports Bar on Dec. 23.

Stevens Point firefighters were called to the scene at about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night.

Lt. Victor Kedrowski said the van, which was parked on Vincent St. behind the Olympic Restaurant/Pete’s Sports Bar, was fully engulfed when crews arrived.

“They were cleaning the grease from the vents on the roof when something in the motor overheated,” Kedrowski said. “The fire started in the back of the van and moved to the front.”

Kedrowski said the man who had been cleaning the vents had left the roof by the time SPFD arrived. The van was “pretty close” to a nearby dumpster, he said, but the fire did not spread.

Firefighters knocked the flames down in just a few minutes, he said. No injuries were reported.

The street was closed to traffic with help from the Stevens Point Police Department.

The vehicle was removed by Johnson Towing of Stevens Point. Crews were on the scene for about an hour.