Mother's Day fire at Milwaukee's Highland Court Apartments kills 5, no sprinklers scrutinized

Yahoo

12-05-2025

This story was updated to correct the number of people who died in the fire and to add a video.
Five people died in a Mother's Day fire at an 85-unit apartment complex without a building-wide sprinkler system on Milwaukee's near west side, prompting an ongoing investigation into its cause by officials.
First responders arrived at Highland Court Apartments, 2725 W. Highland Blvd., around 7:45 a.m. on May 11. They dragged out or rescued with ladders about 30 people, Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said at a news conference that day.
The victims of the fire include: Torrell D. Coleman, 40; Verna Richards, 62; Mark A. Chaffin, 76; Maureen Green, 67, and one unidentified woman, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office.
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Wisconsin Department of Justice State Fire Marshal were at the apartment building on May 12, joined by the Milwaukee fire and police departments.
In total, the deadly blaze drew about 22 fire engines and eight ladder trucks responded to the fire, including units from Wauwatosa and West Allis.
Jerome Reeves, who lives on the building's fourth floor, was among those saved from the blaze. Reeves said he has lived at Highland Court for 33 years. He opened his apartment door when he first smelled smoke, he said on May 12. He said the smoke was so dark and thick he couldn't see his hand in front of his face.
Urgent 911 calls indicated some people jumped from the second floor to escape the building.
Eddie Edwards, who has lived at the complex for three years, said a mother tossed her baby to him during the escape, after he leaped off his balcony to safety.
"I jumped because that was the only way out," he said.
Lipski described the complex as "completely uninhabitable." He declined comment May 12, citing the ongoing investigation. The department intends to hold a news conference on the fire in the coming days, he said.
The apartment fire exposed deadly flaws with state building code and fire safety.
The four-story building was built in 1968 and was not required to have sprinklers or standpipes, Lipski said. Buildings constructed before 1974 with certain sizes, shapes, dimensions and occupancy were not required to have sprinklers, he said.
The lack of sprinklers "dramatically" affected the survivability of those in the apartment, he said.
"It's the grandfather clause. Nobody was required to go back and make that building fire-safe, and you result with this today," Lipski said. "We have fought this fight for many, many years across the United States."
Alderman Bob Bauman, who represents the area where the apartment is, was uncertain if changing code — which he said was outside the city's abilities — was an effective effort moving forward. He worried the cost of retrofitting apartments would be significant and ultimately result in tenants paying more.
He said there are hundreds of apartments in the city without sprinklers due to the code exception. The issue is a 'red herring' with what happened, since they weren't required, he said on May 12.
'I'm sure it can be done, and I'm sure it could save lives someday down the road,' Bauman said. 'So people have to go in with eyes wide open, maybe that investment is worth it.'
The day before, Lipski addressed possible costs directly.
"Of course, it would be an expensive proposition, but I have four fatalities here today. I'm not sure what people think is more expensive right now," he said.
Initially, four people were killed in the apartment fire. On May 12, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office released reports showing the number who died grew to five.
The American Red Cross of Wisconsin sheltered 39 people the night of the fire, said Jennifer Warren, regional communications director for the organization. That support will continue until those displaced find alternate living arrangements.
The organization is also providing food, health and mental health services, spiritual care and kits that include bathing supplies, among other things, she said.
The building is owned by Wisconsin Robinson Family Limited Partnership, according to city assessment records. The owner did not return calls for comment on May 11 or May 12
While the building did not have sprinklers in its living areas, it did have one its parking structure. That's because it was built following the apartment and within years when building code requires it, a Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services spokesperson said in an email.
The parking structure's sprinklers had led to a building code violation notice, city records showed.
That notice was issued after an April 2024 inspection, according to Department of Neighborhood Services records reviewed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The notice cited a section of Milwaukee's building code requiring sprinkler systems and equipment 'be maintained in an operable condition.'
The notice said an annual inspection by a licensed contractor, and a five-year inspection, were overdue. The code violation was to be corrected by June 11, 2024.
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 cleared after an April 22 inspection. The inspector's notes said the five-year and annual inspections had been completed.
Online department records also listed inspection fees totaling $2,438.
On May 12, residents and bystanders stood outside the building. Some wondered if they would be able to re-enter the building and retrieve belongings, while others wondered about the conditions of loved ones. Neighbors described how people leaped out of windows or climbed down trees.
Reeves, who was rescued from his fourth-floor apartment, has been a resident of Highland Court Apartments for 33 years.
His rent is $775 for a one-bedroom unit he moved into after his wife's death.
He said Geraldine Robinson, who is listed as the building's owner, is a 'good landlady,' who he has known for years.
'Getting mad about it ain't going to help change anything now,' Reeves said of the lack of sprinklers. 'I guarantee if you come back here in six months there will be sprinklers installed.'
Edwards has lived in the apartment for three years. On May 11, he heard glass breaking and people screaming. When he went to open his door, he was greeted with black smoke.
'I couldn't see anything. It pushed me back in the building,' he said.
He told his girlfriend to get his daughter — they had to leave through the fourth floor apartment's balcony. Edwards leaped to the ground, while the other two climbed down from balcony to balcony until reaching the ground.
After he reached the ground, a woman with her baby was calling for help. Edwards said he called for her to drop her baby to him and could only think to himself 'please don't drop the baby." She then climbed down safely, he said.
Edwards spent the night at a shelter set up by the Red Cross of Wisconsin and will stay there for a few days. He may stay with his girlfriend's family, but that's far from reassurance.
The family has a cat, Coco, that's still missing. Edwards had no renter's insurance. Now, the question of what's next lingers.
'I'm worried about the next steps,' he said.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at [e-mail]
Jessica Van Egeren is a general assignment reporter and assistant breaking news editor with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at [e-mail].
Drake Bentley, Hope Karnopp and Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel contributed reporting to this story.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Highland Court Apartments Mother's Day fire kills five