Person found dead in home after Milwaukee house fire identified

Updated: May 29, 2025

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as 60-year-old Joyce Doxtater.

Published: May 28, 2025

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A person was found dead after a house fire broke out in Milwaukee on S. Burrell and E. Smith St. this afternoon, May 28.

Neighbors say it was a scary scene as heavy smoke poured out of a home only a few doors away and say they were devastated to hear about the loss of their neighbor.

"We go and look out our back window and we see that the house next to us," said neighbor Megan McGee. "There's tons of smoke coming out through the roof and there was I don’t even know five, six fire trucks."

The Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) responded to the blaze and said the fire was on the first and second floor of the home.

"There are people getting up on the roof, they are cutting holes in the roof," said McGee. "They are blasting water everywhere."

Watching the crews tackle the flames, McGee says she was immediately worried about her neighbor, who she says has lived in the home behind her for decades.

"It was absolutely shocking," said McGee. "My first question was do they know?"

The MFD reported they found one person dead on the first floor of home but say it's unclear at this time if the death was caused by the fire.

The MFD says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The identity of the person found in the home has not been released at this time.