Milwaukee apartment building fire from May 2025 sparked sprinkler debate
Highland Court Apartments fire (May 2025)
MILWAUKEE - It's been almost a year, and Milwaukee investigators have no answer yet as to what caused a deadly Mother's Day fire.
A year has passed
The backstory:
On May 11, 2025, smoke quickly took over the hallways of the Highland Court Apartments on the city's north side. Five people died and more than 100 people were forced to leave their homes.
Highland Court Apartments fire (May 2025)
Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said his team is still wrapping up reports on the incident. They counted 71 rescues from the building.
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The fire put the conversation around sprinklers in the spotlight. The complex did not have working sprinklers because the building was built before 1974. That is when Wisconsin law required buildings 60 feet or taller to have a sprinkler system.
What they're saying:
Lipski is pushing for the law to change, so all buildings have a sprinkler system.
"Since the Mother’s Day fire, we have had so many apartment fires where people are jumping out of windows or waiting for people to rescue them – dragging them out of the hallways, out the doors. I got to imagine that no amount of problems related to installing related to installing sprinklers are more problematic than that," Lipski said.
Highland Court Apartments fire (May 2025)
Lipski said there is legislation drafted at both the local and state level.
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People opposed to the legislation say sprinkler systems can be costly and problematic to install in an existing building.
The Source: Information in this post was provided, in part, by the Milwaukee Fire Department and previous FOX6 News coverage.