Milwaukee fire at Cambridge Apartments; Red Cross steps in

Red Cross helping Cambridge Apartments residents after fire

A Sunday night fire damaged a Milwaukee senior citizen high rise apartment building, injuring three people and leaving dozens left without a home.

MILWAUKEE - A Sunday night fire damaged a Milwaukee senior citizen high rise apartment building, injuring three people and leaving dozens left without a home.

The American Red Cross said the fire at Cambridge Apartments was the largest fire it had to respond to this year in the southeast region, and the largest number of people it had to help as well.

The fire impacted all 91 units in the 15-story building.

Resident Carol Smolinski lives on the third floor.

"When I was getting dressed to leave, I looked out my window and saw bits of, you know [...] fire falling down," Smolinski said. "So I thought, yeah, I got to get out."

The Milwaukee Fire Department received a call for the fire around 8:30 p.m. Sunday. By the time crews showed up, fire could be seen coming from the tenth story.

"I was watching my favorite television program and it went off and it wouldn't stop," resident Mark Albrecht said. "An enormous amount of smoke came up the stairwells and it was coming under my door and it was very difficult to breathe."

People throughout the building were trapped.

American Red Cross helps displaced residents

"That's a huge square footage and a huge amount of occupants," Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said.

The fire was upgraded to a second alarm, pulling in help from Wauwatosa, North Shore and West Allis.

Milwaukee police say three people went to the hospital: two 76-year-olds and a 74-year-old.

By the time the fire was out, 91 units had damage. The Red Cross said more than 50 people were left without a home.

A temporary shelter was set up at Rose Park and moved to Holler Park on the south side Monday afternoon.

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The Red Cross said it's here to help. Volunteers are providing food, assisting with health needs and a place to stay.

"Our shelter will be open for as long as people need it," American Red Cross Regional Communications Director Jennifer Warren said. "[We’re] hoping to move people into more permanent housing, but our shelter is open until everybody is able to find a home."

Police say they are not sure exactly what caused the fire, but believe it was electrical.

Editor's note: Milwaukee police issued a correction Nov. 14 regarding the victims' ages after the story originally aired on FOX6 News. The article text has been updated to reflect that change, while the video relays the information available at the time it aired.