Sun Prairie firefighter killed by explosion that destroyed his own bar

SUN PRAIRIE - A firefighter killed by an explosion that rocked a Madison suburb Tuesday, and who owned the downtown bar leveled by the blast, was described by colleagues and Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday as a hero who gave his life for the safety of his community. 

Firefighter Cory Barr, a Madison-area Realtor and owner of The Barr House in downtown Sun Prairie, died Tuesday after being severely injured in the eruption that leveled Barr's business and significantly damaged surrounding buildings.    

"We didn't lose a firefighter yesterday. We lost a family member," Sun Prairie Fire Chief Chris Garrison said at a Wednesday news conference, holding back tears. "We lost a friend — we lost a dear friend, and we will be affected forever, but we will continue to build strength."

Barr, a 15-year veteran of the Sun Prairie Fire Department, was credited by Garrison, police officials and the governor for preventing widespread injuries or even deaths at the news conference held a couple of blocks away from where the explosion took Barr's life, and where smoke still lingered.

"It's been amazing to see the devastation that was brought on," Walker said after touring the explosion site. "It is a tragedy because of (Barr's) death, but he is without a doubt a hero, as well as those who worked with him, because there's no doubt looking at that site that had they not evacuated the people ... the tragedy of one would have been far greater."

Walker also formed the sign "I love you" to television cameras to share a message of support for Barr's parents, who are deaf. 

Barr and his colleagues were in the area at the time of the explosion after being called for a report of a natural gas leak at the corner of Main and Bristol streets.

After police and firefighters arrived to investigate the source of the leak and close off the area, the buildings exploded. Before the blast, firefighters were able to evacuate more than 100 people from the area ultimately affected, Garrison said.

In all, six firefighters, one police officer and five residents were transported to the hospital. While Barr died, the rest of the injured have or are expected to recover. 

"The gas leak — we were not able to control it. All we were able to do was protect our citizens so that's what we did," Garrison said. "Sometimes as firefighters you have to put yourself in the middle of that, and that's what my firefighters did." 

On Tuesday evening, a contractor that police would not name Wednesday struck a natural gas main shortly before the explosion rocked the Madison suburb of about 30,000 people and resulted in Barr's death. 

"I emailed him and called him and texted him as soon as I saw the news last night," said Heidi Dunn, a team leader at the Keller Williams real estate firm where Barr worked. "Obviously, I didn't hear anything back so we were all really nervous about it all night. ... I didn't sleep very well."

Dunn, who has worked with Barr for nearly two years, said she learned Barr had died Wednesday morning through a Facebook post from Barr's wife, Abby. 

In a statement, Abby Barr described her husband as "the best husband a girl could ask for."

The couple were raising twin daughters who just turned 3 years old. Barr said the girls would run up to him screaming "Daddy's home!" whenever he walked through the door.

"He was so outgoing, goofy, big-hearted, and would give the shirt off his back to anyone," she said. "To say that our family is devastated and heart-broken is an understatement."

Dunn said Cory Barr's devotion to his wife and daughters was paramount in his life.

"He was just incredibly kind and generous, and an absolute family man — his wife and his girls were most important to him," she said. "He was just an incredibly genuine and kind and giving person — you could tell by what he did. He worked as a fireman, he owned the bar and obviously helped people through real estate — so he was always willing to help people in any way."

Pat Terry, a longtime resident of Sun Praire, said his son was also a volunteer firefighter and that his family knew Barr. 

"Everybody knows somebody and people just wanted to help," he said, holding back tears. 

Sun Prairie Mayor Paul Esser said the town's firefighters are a very close group and that Barr's death has had a traumatic effect on the crew. There are some paid, full-time firefighters in Sun Prairie, but Esser said most are volunteers. 

"That's an issue that we're dealing with at this point, trying to support those members and make sure they have the opportunity to talk through their concerns, grieve as they need to grieve," he said. 

Mahlon Mitchell, head of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin and a Democratic candidate for governor, posted condolences on Facebook.

"Please keep the Sun Prairie Fire Department/Sun Prairie EMS Brothers and Sisters in your prayers," Mitchell posted. "We have lost one of our brothers and another was critically injured last night in the line of duty. RIP Brother Barr."

And Attorney General Brad Schimel said Barr's death "is a heartbreaking reminder that those who rush into danger to protect the public put their lives on the line for us every day."

Garrison said Barr and two other firefighters injured in the blast had to be recovered among debris following the blast.

"They weren't immediately visible," he said. 

Fire crews were still hosing down the area Wednesday and many surrounding streets were closed.

Garrison said he could not yet predict when residents could return to homes near the blast site as firefighters and utility workers were still finding natural gas levels in sewers and pipes below Sun Prairie. 

Sun Prairie Police Lt. Kevin Konopacki said because the death investigation remains open, he would not disclose who the contractor was who hit the gas line or the nature of the contractor's work. 

We Energies spokeswoman Cathy Schulze said Wednesday the utility’s workers were in downtown Sun Prairie to shut off the flow of gas and make the area safe.

When asked why it took so long to shut off the gas after the leak was discovered, Schulze said, "crews could not safely access the damaged section of the main to stop the leak at that point."

She said that forced crews to identify and navigate other points in the system to shut down multiple valves and lines that feed into the downtown area. 

Schulze said a 4-inch gas main was struck by a contractor, which caused the gas leak. She did not know the name of the contractor or what kind of work was being done. Natural gas was cut off to about 500 customers, Schulze said. 

By Wednesday afternoon, gas had been restored to a large portion of the affected area. For businesses or homes directly around the broken main, Schulze said restoring gas is probably going to take a while because of repairs. 

A procession carrying Barr from the medical examiner's office through Sun Prairie was planned for Wednesday night.

Meg Jones of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report from Milwaukee. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.