Update: Fire Displaces Waukesha Residents

Update, Friday at 4:30 p.m.: The cause of the fire is believed to be electrical as the origin of the fire was by a light fixture in the ceiling, according to Waukesha Fire Marshall Brian Charlesworth.

Update, Friday at 2:15 p.m.: Waukesha Fire Marshall Brian Charlesworth estimated the total damage from Thursday night's fire was about $30,000.

Original: Several residents living at 131 E. Park Ave. were displaced for at least one night when a fire broke out in the multi-family building around 11:10 p.m. Thursday.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. The damage was greater in the upper floor of the building with some water damage on the first floor, according to Battalion Chief Steve Ore. The fire department does not yet have a damage estimate.

The American Red Cross was on scene before 1 a.m. to assist the residents for the evening. Ore said the residents would not be able to return to their home that night.

Firefighters from nearby Waukesha Fire Station No. 1 responded within minutes of receiving the 9-1-1 call and the fire was under control within 15 minutes, Ore estimated. The entire fire was out in less than 30 minutes.

When the firefighters arrived on scene, they saw smoke coming from the eaves and entered the second floor where there was smoke and flames, according to Ore.

“I was a little worried when I first saw it because I have seen hundreds of these, but they got in there quick,” Ore said.

David Nelson lives in the building and was watching the Major League Baseball playoffs when the electricity went off, which he said is not uncommon for the building. The residents flipped the circuit breaker to restore electricity to the building, but not all the power was restored.

Later, Nelson said, he heard the smoke detector go off and told his neighbor, Kerry Jo Sullivan, to dial 9-1-1

“I came outside with my flashlight and I shined it on the side where I could see the smoke,” Nelson said.

Nelson was wearing only flip flops when he was standing outside on a cold night waiting for the Red Cross and to hear an outcome about his apartment. Everything he owns was in the apartment, he said, including the computer he uses for work.

“I told them, let the dog go in there and grab my computer,” said Nelson, who was holding onto the leash of a neighbor’s rambunctious dog. “My computer is my life.”

But Nelson was more worried about his bearded dragons that he left in the building, including baby bearded dragons.

“They are only a week old,” Nelson said. “… I just hope the smoke doesn’t get them.”

Sullivan was quick to thank Ore for the fast response to the scene.

“Everything is material,” Sullivan said. “You cannot replace a life, you cannot replace a life. “