5 dead, 7 being treated for injuries after Milwaukee apartment fire; FBI investigating
Updated: 5:02 p.m. on May 13, 2025
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The medical examiner's office identified the fifth victim of the Highland Court fire Tuesday as 31-year-old Shakwanda Harris.
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski took to social media early Monday, May 12, to note that a fifth person has died as a result of Sunday's apartment fire in Milwaukee.
He said MFD was "saddened to learn a fifth person from yesterday’s fire on 27th & Highland has died as a result of the fire. The person had been transported to an area hospital by Paramedic Unit and despite all efforts perished. Prayers to the families & friends of the lost."
The Milwaukee Police Department said Monday that seven additional victims were injured in the fire, three of those people critically, and are being treated at local hospitals. Those victims include a 1-year-old child.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office released four of the five victims' names Monday.
They've been identified as 40-year-old Torrell Coleman, 62-year-old Verna Richards, 76-year-old Mark Chaffin, and 67-year-old Maureen Green.
A friend and coworker of Maureen Green stopped by the building Monday.
"I was trying to call her this morning, when I heard about the fire. She wasn't answering and I wanted to see for myself," she said.
She says Green was a light to be around.
"Maureen was a very caring person, she always put others first. She always had a smile on her face, no matter what she was going through."
Sunday morning, when the fire broke out on the third floor, residents say they were jumping from balconies and fourth-floor windows in order to get out.
Eddie Edwards says he threw a mattress out to brace people's falls. After he got his family out, he says he helped get others to safety, including a baby from the fourth floor. The Milwaukee Fire Department estimates 30 people were rescued by ladders.
Dozens of people, now homeless, returned to the scene Monday to see what's left of their apartment and if they could collect their belongings.
The landlord tells us at least 100 people are now homeless. He says once the criminal investigation is done, they'll open the building for tenants to grab essential items. According to Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, the building is uninhabitable.
The American Red Cross has stepped in to help those impacted, with 39 people spending the night at their temporary shelter.
They've got cots set up, along with food, mental health resources, and an opportunity for people to clean up.
The Red Cross says the next job is to help people find a new permanent place to live.
Milwaukee police have been at the scene overnight, and rotating shifts all day. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was there at 8 a.m. investigating.
There are rumors the fire started as an argument and is being investigated as arson.
The apartment building was built in the late 1960s without a sprinkler system or any other automatic fire suppression.
According to city officials, the building code that required a sprinkler system was not enacted until the early 1970s, so this building was grandfathered in and not forced to add a sprinkler system.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson says he would support looking at changing building codes, though he's conscious of how much it costs to update older buildings.
"If you're going to make sure there's a system in place and get rid of the grandfather clause, or modify it, perhaps there would be a time in which folks would be able to do that, and there should be some additional support," Mayor Johnson said.
The mayor confirmed that the FBI is investigating the Mother's Day fire but had no further information on the progress of that investigation.
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Four people are dead and four others are critically hurt in a large apartment fire near 27th and Highland Sunday morning, May 11.
"You got people jumping out of the building, people jumping off the fourth floor," said Emerald Gransberry, a Highland Court resident.
As flames tore through the Highland Court apartment complex, people broke windows and tied bed sheets together to escape the flames.
"People lost their pets and everything," said Gransberry. "It's really bad."
Highland Court resident Emerald Gransberry lives on the third floor.
"When I opened the door, the whole hallway was in flames," said Gransberry.
He says his whole apartment filled with black smoke.
"I never made it out of the apartment I was rescued from the bedroom window," said Gransberry.
Fire Chief Aaron Lipski says the 85-unit apartment complex was built in 1968, before sprinkler systems were required by law.
"You make absolutely no mistake that dramatically impacts the survivability in this building once a fire starts," said Chief Lipski.
A second-floor resident says his neighbor was among the four people killed.
"I actually saw him, I saw him," said the resident.
Chief Lipski says more than 20 fire units and eight ladder trucks responded including Wauwatosa and West Allis.
He believes the fire started in a common area on the third floor.
"The speed at which these alarms are transmitted is indicative of the seriousness of this situation," said Chief Lipski.
Chief Lipski says the building is completely uninhabitable leaving hundreds without a home.
"That's another problem we are always working to develop new shelter opportunities so we can mass shelter especially an 85-unit apartment building," said Chief Lipski.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Our crew was on scene as firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.
The American Red Cross of Wisconsin is helping those displaced by the fire.
Stick with CBS 58 on-air and online for updates.