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Milwaukee warehouse fire, woman in court
The woman charged in connection with a five-alarm fire on Milwaukee's north side is due in court on Tuesday, May 26.
MILWAUKEE - The woman charged in connection with a five-alarm fire on Milwaukee's north side made her initial court appearance in the case Tuesday.
In court:
Ellen Stevens, 22, is charged with negligent handling of burning material, a misdemeanor. A court commissioner set bond at $250, which Stevens already posted, with a condition that includes no smoking.
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"You cannot possess any burning materials as stated, so that would include like cigarettes, cigars, anything of that nature," Court Commissioner Maria Dorsey said.
Steves does not have an attorney and did not speak to news outlets after Tuesday's court appearance. She is due back in court for a pretrial conference in July.
Ellen Stevens
32nd and Hampton fire
The backstory:
Firefighters were called to the scene near 32nd and Hampton just before 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20. When they got there, they found flames coming from all four floors of the vacant warehouse.
The southwest corner of the building collapsed during the firefight. No injuries were reported.
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Court filings said the building, owned by Bishop's Creek Community Development Corp., has been deemed a total loss with an estimated value of $975,800.
With the building at risk of collapse, demolish began soon after the fire. The Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services said it would take roughly two weeks to finish cleaning the site.
Fire near 32nd and Hampton, Milwaukee
Fire investigation
Dig deeper:
Investigators said the building did not have gas or electric utilities in service, making the chances of a fire starting on its own "pretty slim."
According to a criminal complaint, surveillance video showed four people – including Stevens – walking through a nearby parking lot at around 4:20 p.m. and leaving the area at around 5:40 p.m., when a witness told the group they were on private property and asked them to leave. The fire started roughly 30 minutes later.
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SKYFOX: Massive fire near 32nd and Hampton
Drone video captured a bird's-eye view of the ongoing firefight after a five-alarm fire near 32nd and Hampton in Milwaukee.
Another witness called police about the fire late that night. Court filings said the witness reported that Stevens shared Snapchat photos and videos of herself inside the building with a caption stating: "I may or may not have lit the bando on fire today on accident." She also posted a photo of the firefight with the caption "devastating."
What they're saying:
Once in custody, prosecutors said Stevens admitted to trespassing and exploring the vacant warehouse with the group of people she was seen on camera with. She also admitted to smoking a cigarette and "carelessly discarding it" through an opening in the roof.
Stevens said they were making their way out of the building when they saw a pile of fallen debris smoking and with visible embers, the complaint said. She said they stomped on it and thought they put it out, until she learned that the structure had caught fire and posted on Snapchat.
The Source: The information in this report was provided by the Milwaukee Fire Department, Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services, Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.