A fire in one unit of an assisted living facility occurred on Milwaukee’s north side on Dec. 12.
The fire took place at an assisted living facility at North 46th Street and West Hampton Avenue in one unit of the building around 5 p.m. First responders took one person to the hospital due to smoke inhalation and another for a separate medical need.
The fire was contained by the building’s sprinkler system and responding firefighters, said Milwaukee Fire Department Deputy Chief Travis Jones.
“If it weren’t for the sprinkler system, it probably wouldn’t have turned out the way it did,” Jones said.
Firefighters were able to force the door open to the unit with the fire and rescue the one occupant, he said.
The fire department received its first call for the fire at 5:05 p.m. and an initial unit arrived four minutes later, he said. By 6:03 p.m. the department completed its initial response to the fire.
Department fire investigators and the Milwaukee Police Department were called to the scene to determine the fire’s cause and the extent of the damages remains under investigation, Jones said.
The department called on the Red Cross for assistance for at least one resident, Jones said. A spokesperson for the Red Cross did not immediately respond to comment on the extent of the organization’s work.
In a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said “all other occupants able to return.” He credited the building’s sprinklers and firefighters for the outcome.
“Fantastic outcomes,” his post said.
Sprinklers in Milwaukee’s residences have taken on increased focus in the last year, after one of the worst fires in the city’s history took place and killed five in May. That fire occurred in an old apartment building that did not have sprinklers, which is allowed due to its age.
Nearly 70% of Milwaukee’s high-rise buildings were constructed before sprinklers were required by state law, city officials said previously.
Lipski has pressed for changes to state law that would require sprinklers in these buildings. However, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican from Rochester who owns rental properties in Whitewater, said it’s unlikely lawmakers would mandate sprinklers after that fire.
State Sen. LaTonya Johnson introduced a package of bills in November that would allow the city to mandate them and offer landlords grant funds to help pay. Those bills have been referred to assembly committees, but it remains to be seen if they move any further.
