NEW LONDON — A Sunday afternoon fire at the Franklin Park Apartments left one person dead, a suspect in custody, and dozens of residents displaced as state and local agencies investigate what authorities are calling a suspicious death.
New London firefighters and police officers responded to a report of smoke inside the five-story, 66-unit public housing facility at 505 Division St. at approximately 2:37 p.m. Sunday, July 26.
Upon entering the complex, emergency personnel located one deceased occupant inside an apartment on the fifth floor. Authorities are withholding the victim’s identity pending family notification.
In an updated press release issued late Monday afternoon, New London Assistant Police Chief Nicholas Kamba confirmed the death was suspicious in nature.
Law enforcement took into custody Rodolfo Gonzales on the west side of Lincoln School property near an open area owned by the school and that is close to the intersection of E. Washington Street and S. Pearl Street by officers shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday.
Gonzales has a lengthy criminal record, including attempted homicide. In February 2025, he attacked people with a rock and a knife in Outagamie County.
Evacuation and displacement
Operated under the New London Housing Authority, the multi-story complex features 66 apartment units alongside a main-floor recreation center, lounge, meeting rooms, and administrative offices.
Evacuating the five-story building proved to be a major logistical challenge for first responders, as many residents required physical assistance navigating the building’s north and south fire stairwells.
Dory Much, a fifth-floor resident, described a chaotic and frightening scene as she realized the building was actually on fire.
“I just heard the damn alarm going on and on and I was sitting there debating on, ‘Do I want to do this?’” Much said, noting the extreme summer heat. “I thought it was a freaking damn drill. So, I literally wasn’t hurrying... And then I get out there and I’m like, ‘Oh, I guess it’s a for real.’”
Much, whose apartment is on the opposite end of the fifth floor near the origin of the fire, said she began smelling heavy smoke as she made her way down the stairwell.
“You saw the smoke come rolling out of the stairwell,” Much recalled.
As of Monday, all residents remained displaced from their apartments while state fire marshals and criminal investigators continued to process the scene. Many tenants escaped with little more than the clothes on their backs and were forced to leave behind essential items like daily medications.
A temporary emergency shelter was established at the nearby Washington Center gymnasium, where displaced tenants checked in to receive assistance and gift cards from the American Red Cross and local community resources. Much, who is currently staying with her sister on Hancock Street, noted she escaped with just her purse, phone, and charger.
Multi-agency response
Due to the scale of the facility and the nature of the incident, a massive multi-agency effort assisted local emergency crews.
Assisting the New London Police and Fire departments were the Hortonville Fire Department, New London First Responders, Gold Cross Ambulance, Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office, Waupaca County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), the Waupaca County Medical Examiner’s Office, the American Red Cross, and the Waupaca County District Attorney’s Office.
Police officials emphasized that the investigation is ongoing.
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