"Everything I ever had was in there:" Five-alarm fire in Kenosha Co. destroys storage units, contents
Large fire in Kenosha Co. destroys storage units, contents
Large fire in Kenosha Co. destroys storage units, contents
KENOSHA COUNTY -- Heartbreak in Kenosha County. At least 12 fire departments were called to the scene of a five-alarm fire in the Town of Salem on Wednesday, June 8th. The building where the fire happened on Wilmot Road, which housed automotive businesses and storage space was destroyed.
The storage space contained several classic and restored cars.
Steven Milostan didn't just lose his possessions in the fire that consumed the building. He lost his heart too.
Five-alarm fire at transmission shop in Salem
"Lot of money that went in that fire. A lot of time and a lot of memories," said Milostan.
Five-alarm fire at transmission shop in Salem
Milostan's been passionate about fixing up cars since his early teenage years. He's rented the storage unit for the last 11 years and used it as his shop.
"I would work on it in the unit over there. I lost all my tools, my lift, everything I ever had was in there," said Milostan.
Milostan estimates he lost about $100,000 worth of tools, vehicles and car parts. He had four Mustangs in there and a Ford F-250 truck. All of them were burnt to a crisp.
"They're all a total loss. I mean the fire was so hot, it melted stuff," said Milostan.
Steven Milostan
Other units in the building also housed classic or restored cars. All are total losses.
Fire officials say the blaze started accidentally in the transmission shop that had been in the end unit.
"The transmission shop, we determined that some work was being done in there and a spark came in and went into a pan of solvent that ignited and started the fire," said Town of Salem Fire Chief Mike Slover.
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Slover said the fire spread quickly, partly because the space had been designed as a storage unit, but was also being used in other ways.
Five-alarm fire at transmission shop in Salem
"This building was built as a storage unit -- so it didn't have all the firewalls in it that would have been in it if built today, or a sprinkler system or an alarm system," said Slover.
Five-alarm fire at transmission shop in Salem
The total amount lost is not yet known. But for Milostan, no dollar amount can replace what he's lost.
"I'd fix stuff, but it's gone," said Milostan.
No one was injured in the fire. One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, but we're told he's doing OK.
As for Milostan, there's a GoFundMe account set up to help him try and replace some of his stuff.