MILWAUKEE — Five people died in a Mother's Day fire at 27th and Highland in an apartment building without sprinklers. Just one week later, 37 people were displaced after two apartment fires in Milwaukee – both in buildings without sprinklers.
As recently as January, two fires occurred one week apart in buildings Milwaukee's fire chief said had no sprinklers. One at 24th and Hampton sent seven to the hospital. Another at Loomis and Fardale led to at least three more being rushed away in ambulances.
On February 1st, 8 people were rescued and displaced after an apartment fire near 77th and Green Tree Road in an apartment building with no sprinklers.
Watch: Fire survivors, landlord group, lawmakers and fire chief weigh in on fire sprinkler safety
Because of a grandfather clause in Wisconsin's laws, buildings built before 1973 are not required to have sprinklers.
"I have no idea how we upend an entire system that gains profit from people but doesn't provide them a safe living environment," said Chief Aaron Lipski of the Milwaukee Fire Department.
TMJ4's Ryan Jenkins dug deeper into the conversation about recently proposed legislation, taking a 360 view and going beyond the traditional two sides often reported to hear from more voices in our community.
He interviewed tenants calling for change, the attorney for a renters association that says landlords can't be the sole fix, a lawmaker trying to pass legislation she believes could help balance the burden of cost, and Milwaukee's fire chief, who says it's time for change before more lives are lost.
The Mother's Day fire displaced Almetha Parker, who survived the devastating blaze that killed five people and left dozens without a home.
"Let us know what you, in power, can do to help us who don't have that power," Parker said.
The fire was also a wake-up call, leading neighbors in other high-rise buildings to reach out. Roseann, who lives in a senior apartment building in West Allis, expressed her fears.
"I don't want to die in a fire. I don't want to have to jump out of my third-floor window in order to save myself, or maybe kill myself by jumping out of the third floor," Roseann said.
When asked what her message was to lawmakers, she responded: "Please, I beg you to do something as soon as possible."
Jenkins sat down with State Senator LaTonya Johnson, who recently signed on to a proposed funding bill.
"Fires will happen. Making sure people are able to walk away from those fires is important," Johnson said.
Democrats proposed creating a $10 million grant system that would fund up to 50% of costs for sprinkler systems. So far, there has been no bipartisan support.
"We wanted to make sure that we were at least providing some form of dollars so that the renters wouldn't have to bear the cost of this on their backs," Johnson said.
An attorney tells TMJ4 News the Rental Property Association of Wisconsin (RPA) supports that type of bill.
"Every dollar that supports fire safety. Any dollar that helps get sprinklers and or fire extinguishers into buildings is something that the RPA supports," said Kirsten Pezewski.
However, Pezewski points out that the cost burden is huge when retrofitting buildings with sprinkler systems.
"Being a landlord is a business; lots of the landlords in this area are mom and pop, lots of them can't afford to put on a new roof much less a whole sprinkler system," Pezewski said.
She says a system can cost between $5,000 and $10,000 per unit, and that many owners don't have that kind of money in capital. It's something that, if required, could force landlords out of business.
"If we have the economic failure of that property, we could look at abandonment, we could look at foreclosure, and this in turn causes more tenant displacement," Pezewski said.
The RPA says they would also support a statewide law that requires landlords to disclose and communicate fire safety features in buildings so that tenants can make informed decisions.
They've updated their website to include a way to request access to fire-safety disclosure information.
The RPA estimates it could cost up to $1 billion to ensure every building in Milwaukee has a sprinkler system. They say a $10 million grant program would be a start – not a long-term fix. But anything is better than nothing.
"To sit back and not address this simply because we feel it would be an additional burden to landlords, and not addressing the loss of life, its unacceptable," Johnson said.
Regardless of how it all plays out, everyone I spoke with agrees with the fire chief – that human life is more valuable than the cost of a fire sprinkler system.
"Folks are going to have to come together and at least agree on one foundational principle, and that principle is - it's better if people can survive where they're living in the event of what typically always starts as a very small fire," Lipski said.
This story was reported on-air by TMJ4's Ryan Jenkins 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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