40+ units evacuated on southwest side after Christmas morning apartment fire

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Residents in more than 40 apartment units were evacuated Thursday morning after a fire at an apartment complex on the city's southwest side.

According to call logs, the Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) responded to the scene near South 60th St. and W. Cold Spring Rd. shortly before 7:30 a.m.

A building manager at the Colonial Creek Apartments told a CBS 58 crew a total of 46 units were evacuated. Although the fire itself was mostly confined to two units, other apartments were affected by smoke and water.

An on-duty MFD Battalion Chief said the building will be uninhabitable, but crews had brought the fire under control. The building manager said everyone would be out of their units for at least "a couple days."

There is no word on injuries at this time, but dispatch audio from a first responder indicated several victims were hanging out of windows and needed to be rescued. 

Milwaukee Ald. Peter Burgelis and MFD officials later said nobody was seriously injured in the fire. 

Mary Steinbrenner said her loved ones were among those who needed a hand in getting out of their apartments. She had two relatives living in different units at the complex.

Steinbrenner said her brother, Peter, lived in a unit directly next to the one where the fire started. He got out after firefighters smashed his front window to gain better access to the fire. 

Her sister-in-law, Shelley, lives in a different apartment, and she's the one who notified Steinbrenner about the fire.

"Shelley called me this morning. I thought she was calling to say, 'Merry Christmas,' and she's like, 'Call Uncle Peter! There's a fire, we gotta get out!'" Steinbrenner said. "And I was like, 'Oh my gosh!' We live a mile away, so I jumped in my car and drove over."

Fortunately, all of her relatives got out safely, although it was a challenge for the sister-in-law, who got out with her daughter and newborn baby, all while dealing with a recently fractured kneecap. 

Steinbrenner was among those helping their relatives collect whatever belongings they could once the fire was brought under control.

"Had to get medications, clothing, presents that weren't soaked wet," she said. "So, yeah, it's kind of a shock."

For those who had nowhere else to go, the American Red Cross set up a shelter at Holler Park, 5151 S. 6th St. An MCTS bus waited outside the complex to provide warmth, and eventually, a ride to the shelter for those who needed it.

Steinbrenner said her relatives would be cared for, but she teared up at the sight of Milwaukee Police officers assisting a man with a walker as he gingerly walked out of the building.

"That's hard to see," she said. "When someone with those limitations is displaced like that."

Burgelis said while he was thankful nobody was seriously hurt, the fire was another reminder of the importance of automatic fire sprinklers.

The Colonial Creek complex doesn't have sprinklers, as Burgelis said it was built in 1967, six years before passage of a state law mandated sprinkler systems in new complexes.

Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski has repeatedly called for the Legislature to amend the law to where it'd apply the mandate to older apartments, or at least provide funding to retroactively install sprinklers in those buildings.

The issue first captured public attention after five people died in a fire on a Mother's Day last May. Republican leaders in the Legislature said at the time they did not support expanding sprinkler requirements.

Burgelis noted the Milwaukee Common Council enacted an ordinance last fall that requires landlords of apartments with three or more units to disclose whether the building features sprinklers or other fire safety measures.

“While today’s fire investigation continues," Burgelis wrote in a statement. "This incident reinforces why transparent fire-safety information and proactive building safety measures are more critical than ever."