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New Year's duplex fire
A Milwaukee mother is now in need of help after a duplex fire destroyed her home on New Year’s Day.
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee mother is now in need of help after a duplex fire destroyed her home on New Year’s Day.
Aimee Wood said she and her son lost everything. And to make matters worse she did not have renter’s insurance.
Aimee Wood
"Pictures are lost. My son doesn’t even have a pair of shoes," she said. "We left with no shoes on our feet in our robes."
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She and her 11-year-old son were at their home on East Bay Street around 1:45 p.m. when their neighbor came panicking.
"The neighbor upstairs left some candles lit and took her dogs for a walk," Wood said. "And when she came back the house was on fire and she started banging on our door."
Wood said she lost her business during the pandemic and does not have renter’s insurance, making it even harder to get back on her feet.
"Unfortunately, I’m a solo parent and just making enough for us to be able to live," she said.
Sarah Smith is a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. With an uptick in fires expected during colder months, she said it’s always best to be prepared.
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"Looking at the cost of an insurance premium can be daunting but when you think about how much it would cost you if all of your property were to be lost tomorrow," Smith said. "It would be much more expensive than an insurance premium in a lot of cases."
Wood said moving forward, she would rather be safe than sorry in the new year.
"I will definitely on my next place be getting rental insurance, and taking it very seriously," she said.
Wood said she and her son are staying with her mother in the meantime.
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A GoFundMe has been established to help Wood rebuild.