Crews respond to 3-alarm fire at Glendale apartment building
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Dozens of people are waiting to see how bad the damage to their Glendale apartment building is after a fire ripped through several floors Monday afternoon.
So far, no one is hurt, but people have been stuck outside for hours as fire crews continue to work on the building.
The three-alarm fire broke out at a four-story apartment building near Lydell and Hampton, straddling the city limits. Part of the building is in Milwaukee, while the part that caught on fire is in Glendale.
"There were police that started banging on the doors really hard, yelling, 'Get out! Get out!' When I opened the door, the cop was like, 'You need to get out! Get out! There's a real fire,'" residents Merae Kim and Jessica Neundorf said.
It was frantic inside the Parkside at Estabrook when the smoke detectors went off around 4:40 p.m.
Tammy Boyd wasn't sure if it was a real threat.
"Once I went near the patio door, that's when I saw chunks of fire falling down," Boyd said.
Moments later, firefighters attacked the access doors with axes as police officers ran door to door, alerting people to evacuate.
Merae and Jessica left their cats with the patio door open.
"Then we came out here and saw all the flames coming up out of here," they said.
Fire crews from North Shore Fire Department and the Milwaukee Fire Department responded in minutes, but the flames were so strong they called in another alarm.
"It was already in the roofline, going right through the eaves and going into the soffits," Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said.
The building is four stories tall and shaped in a "T." The majority of flames were on the outside. Fire crews went inside and above to attack it.
"It would appear that this fire began on the outside of the building, on one of the porches," Chief Lipski said. "The fire damage on the inside is relatively limited, except for where it got up and over the roof."
There were no identified injuries to residents or firefighters.
"We have cleared all of the floors numerous times," Lipski said.
Many people credited that to a new alarm system that was just recently installed.
"It's wonderful, it speaks to you," said Boyd. "So, it was alerting you, saying, 'Fire. Exit the building immediately.'"
People are required to have renters' insurance and have to show their policy.
Chief Lipski said it appears only two units have extensive fire damage; others will have smoke and water damage.
Boyd is staying with family and is grateful no one was hurt.
"I was told I just have water damage," she said. "Thank God. Because I was praying, so I'm glad that that's all."
The Red Cross, We Energies, and several police departments have been on hand, helping with the fire response.
This was the third multi-alarm fire of the day for the Milwaukee Fire Department, and the second three-alarm fire.
