Roz Auto Salvage fire violation records

MILWAUKEE- CBS 58 combed through records to look into Roz Auto Salvage's violations.

Owner Rick Rozanske says he thinks a propane tank caused the fire at Roz Auto Salvage. But records show this isn't the yard's first fire. Milwaukee's Fire Department told us they responded to three.

Most recently, in 2012, hot metal was tossed into a dumpster causing a dumpster fire, in 2007 there was a storage fire, and in 2004 there was an auto fire. But Rozanske says this time was different.

\"We have fire extinguishers and the guy did everything he could to put out the fire and it just happened so fast there was nothing we could do. 'Do you have working extinguishers?' Yeah sure.\"

But the Department of Neighborhood Services says the business has a pattern of not having working extinguishers or extinguishers in place.

Records show violations starting in 2013 dating all the way back to 2009. The owner did correct the issue, \"This wouldn't be anything a fire extinguisher could put out, but we do go through annual inspections and it's always taken care of.\"

Deputy Chief Aaron Lipski agreed, if the cause is propane, he says an extinguisher wouldn't have cut it. He says it's a reminder to keep extinguishers up to date.

\"I would do a cost comparison between the cost of a fire extinguisher and the cost of an entire structure burning to the ground.\"

The official cause of the fire is still under investigation.