UPDATED Wednesday, August 13, 2008 -- 5:30 pm

"Together, we're trying to get through this together and be supportive of each other and help each other in any way we can."
Two local non-profits scramble to answer the call for clients after flames consume their offices.
A passerby reported smoke coming from the building at Five Odana Court on Madison's West Side around four o'clock Wednesday morning. Madison Fire says the loss of the building and its contents is expected to be millions of dollars.

"When they arrived, flames were through the roof, about 20-40 feet in the air," Lori Wirth with Madison Fire says.
Firefighters got the call around 4 o'clock Wednesday morning.
"Fire had been going for quite a while before anybody caught it," Wirth says, "People were calling from their cell phones on the Beltline."
Jodi Schmidt came from Deerfield after hearing about the destruction. Her mother is on vacation out of town but works for one of the two non-profits with offices in the building.
"People do their work... it's a part of them. This is devastating on that level," she says.
The building on Odana Court is home to about 50 employees.
"We plan to continue services as normal as soon as we are able to re-organize," a phone recording tells callers.
Staff with Community Coordinated Child Care, or 4-C, scrambled to alert child care providers and parents to the situation.
"It's just a catastrophe at this point, but we've been in the community a long time and we're gonna continue to be in the community," Jody Bartnick with 4-C says.
Lutheran Social Services rents part of the building.
"I need some paperwork regarding child we're working with," one staff members says while on the phone.
Its staff was spending part of the day trying to work by cell phone from another nearby space. The organization operates a number of programs, including adoption... mental health and substance abuse counseling and support for people with disabilities.
"Obviously appointments won't be happening today, but we hope to make it possible that we can start doing our counseling again tomorrow at some point at an alternate site," Meg Groves with LSS says.
Staff with both agencies say some records were lost. But they keep others stored online.
"We're gonna keep going... just thankful nobody was hurt," Groves says.
"Being a non-profit, and working in the early childhood community, we're very flexible people so we can set up anywhere and we can perform our duties as necessary," Bartnick says.
In the meantime, both agencies plan to look for temporary space.
The investigation Wednesday was hampered by hot spots. A support fund has been set up for 4-C.
Make checks payable to and send to:
4-C Support Fund
First Business Bank
401 Charmany Dr
Madison, WI 53719

For updated information on Community Coordinated Child Care, Inc.

http://www.4-c.org/index.htm
and
608-271-9181

For Lutheran Social Services
Clients can find updated information online and by phone:
www.lsswis.org
Anyone who needs to speak to a therapist can dial the following number.
800-645-4303
By Thursday, the local number below is expected to be operational again.
(608) 277-0610

According to a news release from the City of Madison Fire Department:

City of Madison firefighters were called for a smoke investigation early this morning that turned out to be a spectacular fire seen from blocks away.

The first call to 5 Odana Court came in a 4:02 a.m. Ladder Company 2 was first on the scene, arriving to find flames through the roof rising 20-40 feet in the air.

The crew quickly adopted a defensive strategy, fighting the fire from the exterior only. Two water towers were set up to beat down the flames. Knockdown was at 5:05, but the water towers remained to cool hot spots and prevent re-ignition.

The fire destroyed most of the roof and one wall. Another wall was in danger of imminent collapse.

The 6300 block of Odana Road was closed to traffic for about two hours.

The two-story building is owned by Community Coordinated Child Care (4C), housing the agency’s Technical Assistance and Resource Center with approximately 25 employees. 4C leases a portion of the building to Lutheran Social Services, also with 25 employees.

The most recent appraisal of the building sets its value at $2.2 million. Investigators at the scene expect the building to be a total loss. No estimate is yet available regarding the value of the building’s contents.
Engine 7 will remain at the scene for much of the day to monitor hot spots. Investigators hope to enter the building sometime today to begin their investigation of the fire’s cause.

___

Lutheran Social Services
Clients can find updated information online and by phone:
Lutheran Social Services
Anyone who needs to speak to a therapist can dial the following number.
800-645-4303
By Thursday, the local number below is expected to be operational again.
(608) 277-0610

For people to know where they can go to get updated information from
Community Coordinated Child Care, Inc.
and
608-271-9181
______________________________________________________

Posted Wednesday, August 13 --- 7:00am

Firefighters responded to a fire this morning, just after 4:00am at 5 Odana Court on Madison's west side.

It does not appear anyone was inside when the fire started.

The building housed two organizations, 4-C Community Coordinated Child Care and Lutheran Social Services.

According to the Capital Times: the two offices have a combined 50 employees. 4-C has its technical assistance and resource center at the site; it will be closed today because of the blaze. Preliminary damage estimates are $2.2 million just for the structure alone, with no estimate yet on the contents.

As of 7:00am, Odana road is now open.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The Madison Fire Department is expected to release more information later today.