Residents forced to vacate Milwaukee apartment buildings after electrical systems tampered with
By Taylor Lang, Maddie Augustine
Click here for updates on this story
MILWAUKEE (WISN) — Residents of two apartment buildings in Milwaukee are being forced to leave after city officials determined their interiors were in disrepair.
Residents told 12 News they were given 30 minutes to vacate the buildings at 2319 W. Michigan St. and 2327 W. Michigan St. because of fire hazards.
On Wednesday, Milwaukee’s Department of Neighborhood Services said the buildings have “life safety issues” and a placard had been issued for both, meaning both are now temporarily shut down.
DNS told 12 News on Wednesday the electrical system in both buildings had been tampered with, both buildings’ fire systems are defective and fire doors were blocked inside the building.
“In situations where there is a placard, there will be an emergency order, but with the severity of this issue and a clear and present danger it presents to life safety, we had to escalate,” Jeremy McGovern, with DNS, said. “In a situation like this, it could ignite, there could be a fire. And also with the way this building is structured, the way they blocked some of the fire doors, you know, what we want to prevent are fatalities or people being injured.”
City records also describe the issue as “Interior of Building in Disrepair.”
The open residential enforcement case states that water enters the building when it rains and that the floors are rotting. The complaint also alleges problems with roaches and rats.
A resident sent a message they received from Smart Asset Management to 12 News.
“Attention Tenants, the DNS is currently at the property investigating and collecting information; it appears that they have made the decision to shut down the building. We do not have any further information at the moment, however we will be reaching out this afternoon hopefully on when you can return to gather belongings. We understand the difficulty of the situation, please utilize community resources and family members for placement. We will be in touch.”
The buildings are owned by Sam Stair, according to information provided by city officials. Smart Assett Realty, a third party property manager, is overseeing the property.
DNS told 12 News the property owner is responsible for fixing the issues, so there is no exact timeline for when residents could potentially be back in their homes.
DNS said 40 units were occupied and evacuated. Community advocates were on site Wednesday to help displaced residents, but many told 12 News they are still unsure where they will be able to go.
“It’s in a rough area, but this was my home. My house where I paid the bills. I could come home, relax. Wind down now. Just nowhere to go. Have to find somewhere in such a short notice. Might have to stay at a shelter hotel tonight,” Zakira, a displaced resident said.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.