Milwaukee apartment fire, displaced residents still can't get in
The Brief
Highland Court Apartments residents are still waiting to collect their belongings.
A Mother's Day fire at the building killed five people and injured others.
The building remains locked and boarded up with no word on when it will reopen.
MILWAUKEE - As the investigation into the cause of a Mother's Day fire at Milwaukee's Highland Court Apartments continues, so too does the wait for dozens of residents to collect their belongings.
What they're saying
It's been nearly two weeks since the fire killed five people, injured others and displaced more than 100.
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"I want to go back to my apartment, get my things, but I know it's in a better place for right now," said Andy Johnson, who noted he's been patient throughout the process.
FOX6 talked with neighbors outside a Red Cross shelter.
"I'm here for the resources and to stand with the people, too," said J.R. Grove.
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Grove said a building worker managed to grab important items, like his ID and social security card, for him days ago. He's planning to move into a new apartment in a different building, but he's feeling for all his neighbors who don't have a permanent place to stay or their beloved belongings.
"They still don't know what caused it, what happened," said Grove. "Just sad, you know what I'm saying?"
Dig deeper
Others are frustrated. Milwaukee Ald. Bauman said law enforcement released the building back to the property owner. In a statement to FOX6 News, Bauman said in part:
"…the landlord must now allow those tenants to – where safe to do so – return to their homes as soon as possible…and they should not be traumatized further by any additional delay that keeps them from returning to inspect their homes."
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What's next
On Saturday morning, the building remained locked and boarded up. FOX6 could not reach the property owner to get a timeline of when the building would reopen.
The Milwaukee Fire Department is working to determine how the fire started. A number of agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are working together on the investigation.
The Source
FOX6 has done extensive reporting on the fatal fire, and spoke with building residents to produce this story.
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