Families displaced after two overnight fires in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE --Imagine being forced out of bed in the middle of the night into dangerously cold temperatures, with little clothing and cover.

That was a reality for Kanisha Williams after she and her family were displaced by an early morning fire at a home near 70th and Carmen just before 3 a.m. Tuesday.

\"It started in the walls and spread up from the bathroom throughout the other part of our house,\" Williams said. \"Our dad woke us up and told us to get out.\"

An ambulance was called to the scene to keep the family warm.

About an hour later, two adults and two children were displaced after a basement fire at a home near 66th and Hampton.

Along with facing frigid, life-threatening temperatures, firefighters dealt with frozen fire hydrants while tacking the fires.

Battalion Chief Ray Groth said firefighters also face the risk of slipping and falling on ice created from water used to put out the fire.