The Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) says one man was transported to Ascension Columbia St. Mary's for treatment of smoke inhalation after it was dispatched to a fire inside a five-unit apartment building at 2035 N. Holton St. around 3:27 p.m. on Sunday.
Kiara Orozco, who lives just two doors down from the structure, watched as fire crews worked to put out the flames.
"I come out and I feel water spraying from all the way on the other side of the house. I look over and the fire is still going," Orozco said.
"And then they came in and they had to cut through the attic."
While en route, MFD Battalion Chief Brian Moore adds a man in the third-floor unit who called in the fire said they were still trapped in the building.
According to the MFD, crews began extinguishing the fire on the third floor once on-scene and were able to find the person who was trapped in his kitchen.
The MFD adds that the man was unconscious, but they successfully pulled him out of the building. Once they got him to the ambulance to transport him to the hospital, Moore says the man regained consciousness.
Moore says of the five units, the one on the third floor in which the fire started will not be habitable until it is rehabbed by a construction crew. Another unit sustained minor smoke damage but is still habitable, while the other three units are still habitable with no damage.
The MFD says it believes something in the unit that was ablaze started the fire and that there should not be a fire hazard within the building itself.
The MFD adds there are no other injuries to apartment occupants or first responders.
Even as a neighbor, Orozco says she's come to appreciate the building.
"In the summertime, they do a little giveaway. They make sandwiches and they give people chips, and juice, and candies for free," Orozco noted. I really like that. It's a sense of community, and it's sad that this happened."
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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