Here's what we do and don't know about a fatal apartment fire on Mother's Day morning

Yahoo

11-05-2025

Early Mother's Day morning turned into devastation in the Concordia neighborhood after a massive fire at Highland Court Apartments that killed four people and left several injured.
About 30 fire trucks responded to the fire, which started around 7:45 a.m. By 1 p.m., many emergency response units had left, but Red Cross workers and police remained to talk to displaced residents and offer food and blankets.
Many details, including what caused the fire, are uncertain. Here's what we do know, and what we're waiting to learn more about.
Four people died in the fire, but their names, ages or genders have not been released.
Four people were in critical condition, though we don't know if their conditions have changed since mid-morning. Their names were also not released.
It's unclear how many people sustained minor injuries, but Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said others were taken in ambulances to be seen at a hospital.
It isn't known yet. Lipski said the fire department is investigating and requested the state fire marshal come out to the scene.
Residents reported hearing yelling or arguing before the fire as part of a possible domestic dispute, but that hasn't been confirmed.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reached out to the Milwaukee Police Department for more information.
Because the building was constructed in 1968, it wasn't required to have sprinklers. Highland Court did have sprinklers in a "small parking area in the first floor," Lipski said.
"There's no sprinklers in the residential portion of it," he added. "Totally separate, completely unrelated to the actual living space."
City records indicate the parking structure sprinklers led to a building code violation notice after an April 2024 inspection.
Nine follow-up city inspections were conducted from May 2024 through March 2025 which department records say showed a failure to resolve the violation notice.
The department recorded the violation as abated after an April 22 inspection. The inspector's notes said the five-year and annual inspections had been completed.
City assessment records list the owner as Wisconsin Robinson Family Limited Partnership. Representatives of the building's owner couldn't immediately be reached.
We don't have an exact number, but it's likely a couple hundred people. The building had four stories and 85 units. Approximately 30 people were rescued by firefighters.
The building is "completely uninhabitable," Lipski said.
The Red Cross is assisting residents, though details on shelters or hotels weren't immediately available. More opportunities to help or make donations may be released later.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters Drake Bentley and Tom Daykin contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What we do and don't know about the deadly apartment fire in Milwaukee