House fire on Market St., claims lives of dog, three cats — residents weren’t home

Nobody inside, as the La Crosse Fire Department battled a house fire on Market Street Wednesday evening, but the blaze did claim the lives of a dog and three cats.

Firefighters got the call around 5:20 p.m. and arrived in two minutes. Crews moved from outside in drenching the home with water, and then found, what the news release called, “the seat of the fire,” in the kitchen.

A search found nobody home, but firefighters did recover the deceased animals.

The home suffered heavy fire and smoke damage. Investigators will work to determine the cause.

A total of seven fire trucks and 18 firefighters were on the scene.