U-Haul fire: Milwaukee storage facility could be demolished
SKYFOX: U-Haul storage facility on S. 1st Street, Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE - After a fire destroyed a Milwaukee U-Haul storage facility in January, city records show the charred shell of the building could be torn down.
Raze permit application
What we know:
The Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services said the building's owner applied for a raze permit on Monday.
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Records show the owner wants to demolish the fire-damaged building near Barclay and Orchard at an expected cost of $200,000. There is no application to tear down the other storage buildings on the property.
Milwaukee U-Haul storage facility fire; unit renters suffer big losses
Milwaukee firefighters spent hours in the bitter cold on Thursday night, Jan. 21, battling a 5-alarm fire at a storage facility on the city's south side.
Trace amounts of asbestos were found during an inspection, according to the city.
What we don't know:
It's not clear when the property might be demolished.
Small business getting back on its feet
What they're saying:
After taking a peek inside, Michelle Eigenberger and Liz Kiesling understand why the U-Haul storage facility's owner wants to tear it down.
"It’s just real precarious looking in there," said Kiesling.
It has been a trying couple of weeks for the co-owners of Bandit MKE, a Milwaukee vintage store. They kept some of their inventory in the facility.
"We’re coming up on a season change, so spring things should be in the store soon and every last piece of spring merchandise is in the smoke-damaged lockers," said Eigenberger. "We’re kind of taking it day-by-day."
"Seeing those three-story flames coming out of the building, we did not have much hope for any of it to be salvageable that night," Kiesling said.
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Three of their units suffered smoke and soot damage. One is considered a loss. Now, the women are getting back into their grove while grateful for what they still have as they continue to get back on their feet.
"We still have the store. We still have each other," said Kiesling.
"Stuff is stuff, and it is meaningful to us, but at the end of the day it is still stuff," Eigenberger said.
The Source: FOX6 News referenced information from the Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services, interviews with the subjects quoted in this story and prior coverage of the fire.