MILWAUKEE — Tenants at a Milwaukee U-Haul storage facility are facing significant losses and frustration over delayed notifications following a fire on Monday. The incident marks the third major fire at the building in a decade, prompting safety concerns from the city's fire chief.
Dozens of boxes and racks were covered in soot, accompanied by the overwhelming smell of lingering smoke. For Michelle Eigenberger and Elizabeth Kiesling, co-owners of the Brady Street vintage store Bandit MKE, it is a feeling of deja vu. They lost items in a January fire at the facility and have now lost even more.
"My heart rate instantly, I could feel it like pounding through my chest, and it was like, are you kidding me? Is this a dream? This can't be real, like not again," Eigenberger said.
"Disbelief, beyond," Kiesling said.
The owners said they found out about the fire from a customer who drove past the building.
Watch: Milwaukee U-Haul tenants frustrated by delayed notice after third major storage facility fire in a decade
"We had a customer text us cause she drove past while it was on fire to be like, ' Hey, guys, you might wanna check on that,'" Eigenberger said.
"We didn't hear anything from U-Haul. We got a text from U-Haul explaining that some of our items may be damaged yesterday, Thursday," Kiesling said.
Another tenant, Shena Johnson, received an automated phone call from U-Haul on Friday, notifying her that her unit may have been damaged. Johnson has been storing products for her natural hair and skincare line, Mae'Rose, for years.
"Apparently, this happened on Monday," Johnson said.
"Frustrated beyond frustrated because people's livelihoods are in this storage unit," Johnson said.
"You have to get new ingredients, you have to get new furniture, things like that. So it's going to take a chunk out of my business and slow things down," Johnson said.
I took these concerns to Milwaukee Fire Department Chief Aaron Lipski.
"This is our third greater alarm fire, meaning we had to bring in, at a minimum, double the number of firefighters and equipment to put the fire out. This is the third time this has happened in a decade. I find that to be disturbing," Lipski said.
"The concern is that I'm going to have a firefighter killed in the pursuit of extinguishing a fire in this building," Lipski said.
Lipski said the building's structure and repairs caused significant challenges for his crews. Arson has been ruled out as the cause of the January fire, but both fires are being investigated by the fire department, Milwaukee Police, and state fire marshal investigators.
"I have no idea. We've been there three times in a decade. If we take that in isolation, I guess I'd be a little nervous," Lipski said when asked if the building is safe to continue keeping belongings in.
A spokesperson for U-Haul said they are providing tenants with one month of free storage. The spokesperson also said customers have the option of a portable storage container, another self-storage room in an unaffected building or taking possession of their belongings.
Customers are being provided moving help, boxes and packing materials at no cost, and those who paid for units in advance are being refunded.
When asked if U-Haul finds the multiple fires concerning, the spokesperson replied, "Absolutely, this is concerning. The safety of our customers, Team Members, and our customers’ belongings is our top priority. U-Haul Co. of South Eastern Wisconsin has been operating at the Walker's Point location for almost two decades and has served over a quarter-million moving and storage customers during that time."
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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