Man burns restaurant, kills himself

SIREN, Wis. (AP) -- A man drove his wife to the restaurant where she worked and set it on fire before apparently killing himself Sunday, authorities said.

A woman came to the Burnett County Sheriff's Department about 5 a.m. Sunday morning and said her husband took her to the Sunshine Restaurant and set fire to the building. She said he then shot out the tires of her truck with a handgun and ran away.

Firefighters got to the restaurant about an hour later. Two firefighters from neighboring Grantsburg were hurt when a wall collapsed on them. One suffered only minor injuries but the other is listed in critical condition at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, Minn., said Siren Fire Chief Tom Howe.

A Siren firefighter also suffered minor bruises after he fell off a ladder, Howe said.

Deputies followed the man's footprints for half-a-mile. They found the man's body between two buildings about a half-hour after emergency personnel got to the scene. He had apparently shot himself, authorities said.

Sheriff's officials did not release the names of the man or his wife.

Firefighters needed six hours to extinguish the blaze. The fire destroyed the building, Howe said.