Four people are dead and hundreds displaced after a fire at a multistory apartment building in Milwaukee on Sunday morning sent residents jumping from their windows for safety.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic fire that occurred early this morning, May 11, at a four-story residential building in Milwaukee’s Concordia neighborhood,” the Milwaukee Fire Department said in a Facebook post.
An investigation into the cause of the fire was ongoing, the fire department said. It thanked first responders from additional municipalities who acted “quickly with courage, compassion, and integrity.”
The fire department said dozens of people were hurt – four critically – after the fire broke out before 8 a.m., CNN affiliate WISN reported. Around 30 fire trucks responded to the five-alarm blaze.
Medics were seen performing CPR outside the building and some residents were carried to ambulances on stretchers, according to WISN.
Firefighters entered the building and used ladders to rescue 30 people, CNN affiliate WTMJ said.
Both affiliates quoted crews as saying the building did not have a working sprinkler system but did not require one, as it was built before 1974, WTMJ reported.
Residents described seeing people leaping out windows and off balconies to CNN affiliate WDJT.
One resident told WDJT people had leaped from the top floor.
“You got people jumping out of the building, people jumping off the fourth floor,” Emerald Gransberry told the station.
Gransberry said his apartment had filled with smoke and he opened his door to a hallway in flames.
Hundreds of people are left displaced after the fire, WDJT said. The Red Cross is assisting residents.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said it was a sad day for the city.
“I spoke with both firefighters and displaced residents and heard about a number of dramatic escapes and rescues from the burning apartment building.
“Authorities are looking into what caused the blaze. My thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy,” Johnson wrote alongside a photo on Facebook showing him with firefighters outside the building.
In 2021, the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services resumed enforcing a code requiring sprinkler systems in some multifamily dwellings. Since April that year, building plans for most dwellings with three or more units have needed to have automatic fire sprinkler systems installed.
WDJT quoted Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski as saying Sunday’s fire could have been prevented if sprinklers were also mandatory for buildings built before 1974.
“Nobody was required to go back and make that building fire safe. And you result with this today. We have fought this fight for many, many years across the United States. Of course, it would be an expensive proposition, but I have four fatalities here today. I’m not sure what people think is more expensive, right now,” WDJT quoted him as saying.
