MILWAUKEE, Wis. — A Milwaukee apartment fire survivor is recovering from smoke inhalation while grappling with the loss of her brother-in-law and uncertainty about her sister's condition.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Milwaukee Fire Department says one person dead after apartment building fire
Karre Kutsugeras remains hospitalized at Saint Luke's, where the sound of sirens triggers painful memories from Saturday's fire near 1st and Layton.
"At night, I'm having nightmares. I'm hearing him scream, you know, and being in Saint Luke's, I can hear the sirens, and that wakes me up at night," Kutsugeras said.
The fire claimed the life of Paul Blake, Kutsugeras' brother-in-law, who family members remember as an Army veteran with a good sense of humor. Her sister Kayleen is being treated for burns in the ICU.
"I don't know how to process this yet. Cause I don't even know if my sister is gonna survive this," Kutsugeras said.
Watch: Milwaukee apartment fire survivor tells of tragic morning that killed relative
TMJ4 spoke with Kutsugeras via video chat about her escape that morning. She was living with the couple, and both she and Blake were amputees, making mobility difficult during the emergency.
"All I know is I was sleeping. I got woken up by my sister. She said, 'Call 911.' She's, there's a fire. So I was calling 911, trying to get myself situated so I can get out of bed," Kutsugeras said.
"And so I got out of the apartment. I know my sister was running back and forth. I could hear my brother-in-law screaming. I got out of the apartment, and when I turned back. I could see the corner of the mattress of their bedroom that was on fire," she said.
She thought her sister and brother-in-law were right behind her during the escape.
Kutsugeras hopes to be discharged by Friday, but she has nowhere to go and has lost everything in the fire.
"We have nothing left. I had an artificial leg, which I no longer have. Uh, my eyeglasses are gone. There's no, no clothes, no shoes, no coat, no, no. I left out of there in pajamas," Kutsugeras said.
She's searching for a permanent home so she can help care for her sister, who is now without a husband.
"I'm just looking for a place to go and for some clothes and some other stuff. I just need to replace some of what I lost," Kutsugeras said.
The Milwaukee Fire Department said the apartment building did not have an automatic sprinkler system.
"This is scary, and I never even thought about that when I moved in there," Kutsugeras said.
Kutsugeras now believes a sprinkler system could have made a difference. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
This story was reported on-air by Mike Beiermeister 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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