news-record.com

MADISON — Todd Dalton's dream of owning a historic brick house on West Academy Street was put on hold after it caught fire Wednesday morning.

Dalton said he was cooking pinto beans at the restaurant he owns in downtown Madison when he heard from a police officer around 11 a.m. that his house several blocks away caught fire. Firefighters don't know yet what caused the fire but the kitchen, dining room and an upstairs bedroom were damaged in the 97-year-old five-bedroom house.

"I was pretty emotional for 30 or 40 minutes," said Dalton, standing in front of the house wearing his black cook's apron under a jacket. "Then my pastor showed up and I started to calm down."

Dalton said he started renting the home last April and planned to buy it by the end of the year. He refinished the hardwood floors and a staircase, landscaped the front yard and added two white rocking chairs to the front porch.

"We'll start over," Dalton said. "I just have to see what the fire marshal says and we'll go from there."

Nobody was in the home at the time of the fire. Jimmy Shelton, assistant chief of the Madison Fire Department, said the cause of the fire is under investigation.