A woman has been charged after investigators determined a cigarette flicked inside a vacant Milwaukee building caused a massive fire that led to the structure's demolition.
Milwaukee Fire Investigation Unit Director Timothy Heling said the woman arrested was known for entering vacant buildings and admitted to flicking a cigarette inside the building Wednesday. Heling said the woman and three other people believed they had extinguished the fire before leaving.
Cameras from a building across the street captured the four people leaving.
The suspect, Ellen M. Stevens, was formally charged Friday with negligent handling of burning material.
According to a criminal complaint, Stevens told detectives that she and three other people trespassed on the property during the afternoon of May 20th. She told the detectives that she smoked a cigarette on the rooftop and discarded it through an opening on the roof.
About 20 minutes later, as Stevens and the others were making their way back down through the building, they spotted a pile of debris with smoke and visible embers, the complaint says. Stevens told detectives she believed she and the others put out the fire by stomping on the embers.
Later that night, a citizen witness who was friends with Stevens on Snapchat contacted police and told them Stevens posted a photo of herself with the caption "I may or may not have lit the bando on fire today on accident."
The witness also claimed Stevens posted a video of herself inside the vacant building, as well as a photo of crews fighting the fire wit hthe caption "Devastating."
Police took Stevens into custody at her home and saw the same jacket and backpack that was captured in Snapchat posts.
Deputy Fire Chief Ron Firnrohr said the fire troubled him personally.
"If it was carelessness or malicious that really bothers me, I take that personally."
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Firnrohr added that firefighter safety was his primary concern.
"I don't want to put people in harm's way when they shouldn't have been there in the first place."
Milwaukee fire crews battled the blaze at the vacant building near 32nd and Hampton from Wednesday night into Thursday. The building was subsequently demolished.
Firnrohr is the officer on scene responsible for determining how to best fight fires without putting his crew at risk. He said massive fires like the one near 32nd and Hampton drain city resources faster than most people realize.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist 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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