MILWAUKEE, Wis. — On Tuesday night, neighbor Kim Hyatt came back to her Highland Boulevard home to an irritating noise she knows too well.
"I don't look out my window anymore, I don't call 911, I'm just like 'oh I guess it's just the fire alarm' but one of these times it really will be real," Hyatt said.
Hyatt said the alarm blared for hours and video captured the sound and Milwaukee Fire crews responding Tuesday night. However, this isn't a one-time issue for Hyatt or tenants who live on the other side of the street in the apartments where the alarms are going off.
Neighbors contacted TMJ4 after they say tenants in those buildings are scared to speak out as this has been happening, they say, for the last year.
"It's so loud you can't even tell where it's coming from," Hyatt said.
The faulty alarms are constantly going off at the three Berrada Properties buildings on West Highland Boulevard.
Watch: Neighbors, tenants say fire alarms at several Berrada Properties won't stop blaring
"I live way down there, I can hear it from inside my house," Hyatt said. "It's wake-you-up loud."
TMJ4 News' Chief Investigative Reporter, Jenna Rae, has spent years investigating Berrada Properties. Rae spoke with people who live in two of the three Berrada Properties buildings. Several tenants declined to go on camera, saying they were worried about speaking out.
"I worry about all the people. And watching several people refuse, they were worried right, they wouldn't go on camera, and every person that you've talked to said they wouldn't want to go on camera," Hyatt explained.
Those tenants said the alarms go off so often that they have begun turning them off themselves — without resetting them.
"Now I found out why, because the people inside turn off their fire alarm without resetting it, which is exactly what I said was my concern," Hyatt said.
The alarms go off so frequently that tenants told us they stay in their units when they hear them.
"I don't look out my window anymore, I don't call 911, I'm just like 'oh I guess it's just the fire alarm' but one of these times it really will be real," Hyatt added.
Last year, on Mother's Day, five people were killed in a fire at a Berrada property across the street.
"We're just trying to advocate for the people who aren't, you know, maybe feel like they have the power to say something," Hyatt said. "I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't say something and five more people died or even more."
The Department of Neighborhood Services said it is only aware of one complaint from a tenant, and that an inspection found the system to be functioning properly. A DNS spokesperson said residents need to contact the department directly with concerns about the fire alarm system functionality.
We called Berrada Properties twice Thursday and sent an email. The company did not respond.
"I hope someone can help because it's a lot for them and us, honestly," Hyatt said.
Milwaukee Fire told us crews have been called to those three Berrada Properties buildings for alarm dispatches 47 times since January of last year.
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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