Whitefish Bay man dies in condominium fire

WHITEFISH BAY -- A man in his 40s died Wednesday morning, June 6th in a condominium fire in Whitefish Bay. The victim's name has not yet been released.

The fire broke out shortly after 7 a.m. at a condo complex near N. Santa Monica and E. Henry Clay in Whitefish Bay. When the North Shore Fire Dept. arrived on the scene, they found smoke pouring out of the top floor.

The fire was called in by one of the tenants who smelled smoke coming out of the condo across the hallway.

Firefighters were able to put out the fire -- which only affected the condo in the back of the third floor. When they went searching through the condo which caught fire, they found a man unresponsive.

"He was removed and was treated by paramedics. At the time he was removed, he was also not breathing. Paramedics attempted resuscitation and were unsuccessful and he’s been declared dead at the scene," North Shore Fire Chief Robert Whitaker said.

Officials say the fire could've been a lot worse had they not gotten to it in time. That's in large part because the building has no sprinkler system.

"They had to pull their hose lines up three floors. Just to get that laid out right that takes some good incident management from our first arriving officer," Chief Whitaker said.

Officials estimate damage at the condo complex to be between $150,000 and $200,000.

Because the fire was contained, all tenants were allowed back into their condos.

The state fire marshal was called in to investigate the cause of this condo fire.

In the meantime, the American Red Cross is also assisting tenants who received any damage to their condo.