Milwaukee U-Haul storage fire; second blaze upsets tenants, limits access

MILWAUKEE - Frustration is growing among customers at a Walker’s Point U-Haul storage facility after two fires in recent months left tenants struggling to access their belongings.

What we know:

On Monday, April 6, the Walker’s Point U-Haul facility caught fire for the second time this year, damaging 25 first-floor units. U-Haul said there could also be water and smoke damage on other floors.

In January, a separate fire destroyed about 400 units.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

Tenants say the elevator remains out of service following the latest fire, making it difficult — and in some cases impossible — to reach upper-floor storage units.

Local perspective:

For 72-year-old William Kleemann, a Vietnam War veteran, accessing his fourth-floor unit isn’t an option.

"Going up and down stairs just has become precarious at best," said William Kleemann, U-Haul tenant. "I cannot do it. I am at the end of stage 3 going into stage 4 in a year or so of Parkinson’s."

The latest fire occurred in the same building where Kleemann stores family military memorabilia, including items belonging to his son who served in Iraq.

"There might be something in his foot locker from his time in Iraq that’s of great value, and hopefully it wasn’t ruined by smoke or water," said Kleemann.

Kleemann said the items represent family history that cannot be replaced.

"My dad was at the end of World War II, I served during the Vietnam War, and my son volunteered to serve in 2005 to serve his country," said Kleemann.

When FOX6 visited the facility Wednesday, workers referred questions to a regional president, who said tenants must find their own representative to access their units.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

"Is our property secured and when will the elevator be fixed, so we can get to our property in a safe manner," said Kleemann. "I feel like we are not being heard as customers and there’s really a lack of caring to reach out." 

Kleemann said he has insurance through U-Haul and plans to move his belongings once access is restored.

What they're saying:

U-Haul said partial power remains at the facility, leaving elevators out of service and tenants with questions about access and security. The company said customers will begin receiving notifications Thursday, April 9, when they can access the building.

U-Haul provided the following statement on Tuesday:

"A 2-alarm fire broke out last night in building D. This is one of the self-storage buildings on the property. Approximately 25 storage units were damaged by the fire. The remaining first-floor units will have water, smoke or soot damage. Some units on the second, third and fourth floors may also have water, smoke or soot damage.

This was the same property that sustained a much larger fire in January. However, the fires are completely unrelated and occurred in different sections of the complex. The January fire began in building H.

The fire chief will need to confirm the separate causes of the two fires.

We are currently working on securing the building for our customers and getting power restored. Once this has been accomplished, we will reach out to all affected customers and coordinate a date and time for them to inspect their storage units. We will have staff on-site to assist with relocating belongings, cleaning, drying, and re-boxing items as needed. We expect to start scheduling customers on Thursday. We will be using contact information from each tenant’s contract. Tenants should log into their storage accounts and ensure that they have the correct phone, email and mailing address in our system."