Fires across Ozaukee and Milwaukee counties left dozens of families without homes, with fire crews responding to multiple blazes in a single day amid temperatures in the upper 80s.
WATCH: Busy day of fires across Ozaukee and Milwaukee counties displace homeowners
In Milwaukee, a fire at an apartment building displaced more than 50 people. The fire started at 1 a.m. Sunday, and crews said some residents had to be rescued while hanging out of their windows.
“I opened the door, and it was just a huge thing of black smoke,” neighbor Amina said.
At the same time, a fire destroyed a home in Port Washington in Ozaukee County. Cedarburg fire crews responded there at 1 a.m., then around noon were called to a garage fire in the Town of Trenton near West Bend. They were driving back to Cedarburg when another garage fire call came in.
“One of our tenders was just returning from another mutual aid fire, helping out another community. They were two blocks away,” Cedarburg Fire Chief Jeff Vansholtz said.
Most of the fire crews on scene had just finished battling the Town of Trenton fire together before being called to the next emergency.
“We went to the second box alarm. That’s why there are a lot of resources on the scene. It is really due to the heat, to be able to rotate crews through,” Vansholtz said.
Vansholtz said the cluster of fires in the region has been difficult to explain.
“I can’t explain why we have a rash of fires in Ozaukee County and surrounding areas recently,” Vansholtz said.
TMJ4 News checked with the different departments — none of the fires appears to have the same cause. All remain under investigation, but most appear accidental.
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