Burlington shoe store cleaning up after fire

Itzin’s Shoes, 436 N. Pine St., sustained smoke and water damage Friday afternoon after a two-alarm fire that broke out in the unoccupied apartment above the store.

Store owner David Schmalfeldt said he lost a significant amount of inventory, and the business likely will remain closed for several days for cleanup.

Schmalfeldt, however, said he is grateful that nobody was hurt and that firefighters got the blaze under control before it spread.

“It could’ve been worse,” he said. “All of this stuff can be replaced.”

Investigators were working Saturday to pinpoint the cause of the fire.

The Burlington Fire Department said a back porch of the upstairs apartment was in flames when crews arrived about 2:30 p.m. in the heart of the city’s downtown shopping district.

Emergency workers ordered an evacuation of all businesses and residences in the 400 block of North Pine Street while firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.

The two-alarm call brought help from fire departments as far away as Elkhorn and Delavan. Other responding departments included Rochester, Wheatland, Lyons, Bloomfield, Genoa City, Lake Geneva, Kansasville and Tichigan.

Officials said a dog was rescued from the building.

Itzin’s Shoes employees gathered Saturday to survey the damage and begin the cleanup, with help from the store’s insurance company.

A sign on the front door said the store might reopen Monday, but Schmalfeldt said it will almost certainly take longer.

The business issued a statement alerting customers to the incident and expressing gratitude to the firefighters.

“Thank you to all fire departments and police officers who came to our need,” the statement said. “Without their quick response, it could have been a lot worse for Burlington’s beautiful downtown.”