Milwaukee fire at 24th and Kilbourn, 13 displaced
MILWAUKEE - Thirteen people are without a home after a fire near 24th and Kilbourn in Milwaukee Wednesday, May 25.
One man said he tried to put out the fire, but unfortunately, nothing worked. Another man said staying up late and hearing his neighbor yelling about the fire saved his life.
Still awake, Terrance McBrady heard the smoke detector go off after midnight.
"I just followed my nose to a room," said McBrady. "The door was unlocked and then flames. Big flames."
House fire at 24th and Kilbourn, Milwaukee
He said smoke filled the air.
"I was running back out of the cloud of black, and somebody was coming up with the fire extinguisher, so I grabbed it out of her hands, went right back into the fire and I thought I almost had it out," he said.
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A viewer shared video showing what it looked like from the outside.
"I ran back to get more water because I ran out of extinguisher, and I thought I put it out again," said McBrady.
Flames continued to spread. McBrady tried to put out the fire again.
We should note, firefighters say you should not go back into the building once you're out.
"Now, the third time, I'm going in there, I'm crawling underneath the black cloud, you know, the smoke," said McBrady. "You couldn’t see anything, and when I put the fire out, it was pitch black but somehow, I felt my way out, and I thought I had it down."
He started to yell, concerned for his neighbors' safety.
"I was hollering, ‘Call the fire department!’ at the top of my lungs," said McBrady. "It echoes. Everyone in that building could hear me."
That includes James Hargarten.
"I heard him yell, ‘Fire!’" said Hargarten. "Got out of there pretty quickly. I was lucky."
House fire at 24th and Kilbourn, Milwaukee
He said it could've been worse.
"I wanted to go to bed early that night, and I ended up staying up, thankfully," said Hargarten. "Otherwise, I could’ve been, you know, deep sleep, and I’m on the top floor. It was intense."
Now, those who lived here are struggling to figure out what's next.
"We don’t know. We're in limbo," said McBrady.
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Fire officials say the fire caused a lot of damage, but no one was injured.
The cause is under investigation.