Cop 'feels great' about her lifesaving role at frat
Madison Police Officer Angie Dyhr realizes that had she happened upon the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity fire even five minutes later, the result could have been devastating.
Dyhr, 33, a mother of three, was patrolling Langdon Street in her squad car when she noticed what appeared to be a campfire or a grill fire in the back of 237 Langdon St.
So she pulled in the driveway and notified dispatch right away.
Two weeks earlier she had gone through an in-service training with the fire department, where she learned how quickly a house can become engulfed in fire. She was taught that any time she witnesses a fire -- no matter how small -- to get on the radio and alert the Fire Department.
"I called them right away before I knew how big it was," Dyhr said during an interview Tuesday night in a Police Department conference room in the City-County Building.
As Dyhr pulled halfway up the driveway, somebody ran from the back of the three-story wooden house and said there was a fire. She put her car in reverse and moved two houses down so she wouldn't be in the way of the fire department.
By the time she ran back, the backside of the 1890s residence was engulfed in fire. Dyhr started banging on the front door, which was locked. She said she didn't hear any alarms at the time and didn't see anybody moving around inside.
Dyhr said she was pounding on the window, wondering whether she should break it. Luckily, a fraternity member came to the door. Black smoke then began billowing out. Once he opened the door, he started screaming for others to get out, she said.
Most of the residents came out right away, and as she screamed more of them ran down the steps.
About 30 seconds after she was told everybody was out, a resident came from the third floor where he had been sleeping. By this time the alarms were going off, she said.
"Within two minutes that place was an inferno," she said.
Five to 10 minutes later there were close to 1,000 people on the street, gathered around the other homes and apartment buildings, Dyhr said.
Dyhr estimates that of the house's 25 residents, between 15 and 20 people were inside at the time. It's finals week, and a number of them were at the library or elsewhere working on papers or studying for exams.
The Fire Department got the first call at 11:41 p.m. Monday. The blaze was put out about three hours later at 2:38 a.m. A cause won't be determined for a few days, said Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Bernadette Galvez.
No residents were hurt, but two firefighters sustained minor injuries. Damage is estimated at $750,000.
"It makes me feel great," Dyhr said about her role as a lifesaver. "With the stuff that has been happening around Madison, we don't want any more lives to be lost in a tragedy."
Dyhr -- who has children ages 12, 9 and 7 -- said she thinks of something similar happening to her own family.
For her quick actions, Dyhr will be nominated for a Madison Police Department Lifesaving Award.
While Dyhr, who has been with the department three years, is honored by the prospect of the award, she stressed that police officers are no strangers to danger.
"Day in and day out in law enforcement, we put our lives on the line, not knowing what is going to happen every day. I come to work and I have no idea what the next move is going to be. Everything we do is dangerous, pretty much," she said.
Police officer Rene Gonzalez, who normally patrols the Langdon Street neighborhood, called preventing any tragedy "incredible and paramount."
"I don't think words can express the importance of it," he said.
It was particularly important for the Greek system to head off such a tragedy, he added, referencing the alleged reverse hazing incident at the frat last week in which human excrement and vomit were dumped on senior fraternity members by pledges.
"They have already had bad press. It would be very unfortunate for the story to end like this. It would be devastating and catastrophic," Gonzalez said.
Michelle Stocker/The Capital Times
Madison Police Officer Angie Dyhr talks to the media Tuesday night at the City-County Building.
