North side neighborhood may suffer after fire damages 3 stores; estimated $1M in damage

MILWAUKEE -- A store fire on Milwaukee's north side has many in the neighborhood wondering how they'll move on as many relied on the three stores that were damaged by the blaze.

14th and Center furniture store fire

"It's sad to see something like this happen out here like that," said Jimmy Sood, Eagle Foods employee.

Jimmy Sood is still having a hard time understanding what happened.

"We came back just to see what really happened, we got phone calls and we wanted to see for our own eyes because this, we work here, this is how we make our living out here," said Sood.

14th and Center furniture store fire

Sood works at Eagle Foods, a convenience store near Center and 14th Street, suffered smoke damage after World Wide Furniture caught on fire Friday night, January 20th. The fire was called in around 9:15 p.m.

14th and Center furniture store fire

"We got here and there was smoke showing and we started setting up, the smoke increased and we couldn't see where the fire was, so we went defensive," said Battalion Chief Dewayne Smooths, Milwaukee Fire Department.

Between the building and the furniture inside, there is an estimated more than one million dollars in damage.

14th and Center furniture store fire

14th and Center furniture store fire

"You know what, it can be replaced," said Sood.

Sood says the fire will be a setback for the neighborhood.

14th and Center furniture store fire

"A lot of families depend on this store and these stores out here, jobs and everything, we don't know -- we don't know what's going to happen," Sood said.

One firefighter suffered a minor injury and was treated on the scene. No other injuries have been reported.

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