Chemical-soaked rags caused Lincoln Avenue School fire, Milwaukee Fire Department reports
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Chemical cleaning rags piled up in a garbage can are believed to have sparked a fire that destroyed Lincoln Avenue School in Milwaukee.
The fire broke out early Tuesday, June 30 and was quickly upgraded to a five-alarm fire as flames tore through Lincoln Avenue School in a fire that forced the Milwaukee Fire Department out of the building.
"These massive brick wall buildings. they act like a pizza oven, so they absorb that heat all day long," said Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, Milwaukee Fire Department.
Lipski said Monday, Aug. 10, there is no evidence to suggest this was an arson fire but "sadly, there was human error involved."
Surveillance video from inside the building captured custodial workers preparing for the new school year by using oil-based cleaning and waxing chemicals to clean.
"This proved invaluable as it contained video evidence key in our fire cause determination," said Lipski.
Lincoln Avenue School destroyed by fire
Rags soaked with those chemicals were placed into garbage cans. Because of the hot and humid weather, the rags caught fire inside a garbage can on the second floor. The items inside the building only added fuel to the growing fire.
"Great difficulty was had due to the advanced state of the fire and the hindrance created by classroom desks and other furniture in the hallways," said Lipski.
Out of 140 buildings in the Milwaukee Public School District, only 22 are equipped with sprinklers in some capacity.
"There are probably many, many older buildings that don’t yet have sprinklers and I’ll just say this outright, Superintendent Cassellius has been here just a couple short years. There is not a human being on earth that could have gotten all these buildings sprinklers in that time frame," said Lipski.
Lincoln Avenue School destroyed by fire
In the meantime, MPS says the process for handling chemical-soaked rags has already changed.
"These rags must be placed in approved metal containers at the end of every shift which were provided immediately," said Cassellius.
The district is also limiting its use of oil-based cleaners and closing windows and doors in the building were applicable. MPS says it’s seeking bids to demolish the more-than-100-year-old building.
"We were fortunate that they gave us $5 million immediately so that we could move forward with the demolition," said Cassellius.
Cassellius says the cost of rebuilding an elementary school is roughly $50 million. For Lincoln Avenue families, this school year is marked by the start of figuring out what comes next.
"These buildings are no longer assets, they’re actually liabilities to the school district so we have to have a conversation with Milwaukee about the types of learning environments we want for our children," said Cassellius.
