Fire investigators are still examining the scene of a major fire that burned a building in downtown Portage for hours on Sunday.
SLIDESHOW: See viewers' photos of downtown Portage building fire
The fire broke out in a building on the corner of Dewitt and Cook streets, right in the heart of the city's downtown, and ripped through a bridal dress shop and an upstairs apartment. It burned for more than four hours before being extinguished later Sunday night.
Cleanup efforts were continuing on Monday as crews work to clean up fire, smoke and water damage from the blaze. The building is considered a total loss. Two adjacent buildings did suffer smoke damage.
But with the fire extinguished, now some are wonder what took so long to put the fire out.
As the building smoldered on Sunday night, the emotions of the building's main tenant, Tara Norland, erupted. She expressed some frustrations.
"My mom called 911, but we were in Marquette County. We got the dispatch center there. She said, 'We can't transfer you. You need to have your son call 911.' That wasted a lot of time when a firefighter could've come up here then and it's still burning," she said.
Norland said on Monday that she's still upset a day later as she saw the damage up close.
The Marquette County Sheriff's Office said that there was an equipment glitch, but a dispatcher wrote down the information and called to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. They said that didn't take too much time.
Police seek public's help to catch serial bank robber
Robber targeted West Side, Middleton banks
Madison police are asking for the public's help to stop a brazen bank robber who is responsible for nearly a dozen heists in the Madison area.
Police said that the latest robbery was last Friday on Madison's West Side.
Investigator s said that what's unusual about this thief is how often he's striking. They said that often times, bank robbers will strike more than once but typically months apart. The robber has been striking weeks -- even days -- apart, they said.
Madison police aren't the only ones investigating a string of robberies. Authorities said that they believe he is responsible for bank heists in Madison, Middleton, Rock County and even Dubuque, Iowa. The suspect has hit eight times in the last month alone, they said.
Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said that the thief follows a similar pattern.
"He hands a note in every case," said DeSpain "In many of these cases, we have surveillance photos of a getaway vehicle: a silver Toyota Corolla with a sunroof. I think they've nailed that down now to being between a 2002 and 2008 Toyota Corolla."
Rose Oswald Poels, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, said her industry has taken note of the crimes.
"Unfortunately, bank robberies are a risk that comes with financial institutions opening its doors everyday," said Oswald Poels.
Oswald Poels said while there's no such thing as banks being on a high alert, this recent rash of incidents has definitely created more awareness.
"We are always vigilant, and always conscious that something could happen at any day, at any time," Oswald Poels said.
Police are hoping the public becomes more aware of the string of robberies as well. Investigators said that they believe the man lives on Madison's West Side or Middleton. This is because they've been ready for him when he strikes and he's still been able to slip through their fingers.
"In the last couple of bank robberies on the West Side of Madison, we've had officers getting in lots of different areas quickly to look for that car, and the guy vapors . He's gone," DeSpain said.
About half of the robberies have happened on the city's West Side and Middleton. Police also say that he might live in or have access to a place with underground parking, making it easier to hide from officers.
Authorities are reminding everyone if they recognize the robber, or the vehicle he's been driving, to call police.
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Portage Fire Chief Clayton Simonson said that his crew got help from five other departments.
"So, it took us, I believe, 3 to 5 minutes to get here after the alarm went off. So, it may take another minute to make that call down here," Simonson said.
Firefighters tried to keep the blaze from spreading to other downtown buildings.
"But, it just kept building and spreading up into the attack area to the point where it drove the guys with the heat and smoke, it drove them out of the area," Simonson said. "And I actually pulled them because the roof was getting soft. And in fear of collapse, I had the guys come out and we switched to a defensive attack."
The fire was finally out at 9 p.m.
Although initially frustrated by the time it took, Norland said she is thankful for the firefighters work.
"The firefighters were here, risking their lives to save my things and my pets, and I can only be grateful for that," she said.
Officials with the Marquette County Sheriff's Office said that they're working to fix that technical glitch with the 911 system so the delay, however slight, doesn't happen again.
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