3 people dead after overnight house fire in Barron

BARRON, Wis. (WEAU) - Three people, including two children, are dead after a fire at a house overnight in Barron.

“It was the biggest fire I’ve seen in a long time as far as fire spread when I pulled up,” Barron-Maple Grove Fire Chief Mike Romsos said. “I live half of city away and when I pulled out of my driveway, I could see the glow in the sky.”

44-year-old Donald Albee, 6-year-old Conner Albee and 5-year-old Emily Albee were killed when their house caught on fire overnight, according to a release from the Barron County Sheriff’s Department.

The Barron County Sheriff’s Department said that the Barron County 911 Center received a call of a house fire on River Avenue in Barron at 3:26 a.m. Thursday.

The caller reported three people still inside of the home. First responders were able to get the two children out of the home, and they were taken to Mayo Hospital. Despite life-saving measures, the children were pronounced dead at the hospital.

“This was a tough one,” said Barron County Sheriff Erik Fitzgerald. “This was probably the first time in my career, and the first time in the fire chief’s career that we’ve seen firemen carrying children out of a house.”

Donald Albee, the children’s father, was later found dead in the house. 49-year-old Delores Dahlberg, Donald’s girlfriend and the owner of the house, was able to escape the fire and was treated and released at the scene, according to the release.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Assisting the Sheriff’s Department were the Barron Police Department, Barron Fire Department, Mayo Ambulance, Cameron Fire Department, Cumberland Ambulance, Barron County Medical Examiner and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.

The Barron Area School District is providing additional counselors and resources for students and staff. Sheriff Fitzgerald remarked on the strength of the community despite the tragic circumstances.

“This town knows adversity very well, and they handled it well,” he said. They’ll handle this well, of course, as they have in the past. It was great to see again, but it’s always when it’s a tragic thing, and that sucks.”

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