Central Storage and Warehouse Co. Fire

May, 1991 – Madison, WI
A large warehouse at 4309 Cottage Grove Road, filled with tons of lard, meat products and butter burned for a week before it finally burned itself out.

Initially residents for several blocks were evacuated because of the potential for an ammonia explosion. Later, as the water from fire hoses drained away carrying butter and debris it oozed into the gutters and streets, flooding into the storm sewers and threatening to reach Lake Monona.

The fire started when a battery exploded on an electric forklift. No deaths but a few firefighters were injured.