Milwaukee – A fire in the Milwaukee Apartment building that began in a common area and spread to multiple floors on Sunday killed four people and critically wounded four others.
Several more were treated by minor injuries in the fire that began at some point before 8 am on Mother’s Day.
The fire caused the 85 -units building to be uninhabitable, displacing about 200 people, said Milwaukee firefighters Aaron Lipski, at a press conference.
He entered calls that people were trapped and jumping from the second floor of the four -story building to escape. The first firefighters who arrived were “far away, surpassed by the intense flames, Lipski said.
Fire trucks on the platform rescued the people from the windows while other firefighters entered, some crawling on their hands and knees to get people, Lipski said.
In total, about 30 people were rescued. The cause was not clear, but Lipski expressed his confidence that he would be in time.
Built in 1968, the building was prior to a law that would have required that it had a sprinkle system and was never adapted with one, Lipski said.
“It was not required that no one returned and made that building fire safe,” Lipski said. “I have four deaths here today. I’m not sure what people think they are more expensive at this time.”
