U-Haul fire: Milwaukee storage facility tenants may soon check units

MILWAUKEE - Customers impacted by a January fire at a U-Haul storage facility in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood may soon be allowed back into their units to see what remains.

What we know:

The fire damaged parts of the U-Haul Moving & Storage facility near 1st and Orchard, affecting about 400 of the site’s roughly 1,200 storage units.

Customers with belongings stored in buildings B, D, E and H were impacted by fire damage, soot or water, according to an update from U-Haul.

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U-Haul says crews are currently clearing debris around building H, which had about 272 storage units affected by the fire. Once the debris is cleared, customers will be contacted and allowed to safely check their units before any demolition occurs.

Kathryn Behling is one of those customers. She says her unit contains baseball memorabilia that belonged to her late father.

"It's a little bit of a relief," said Behling. "Hopefully something is salvageable."

What they're saying:

Behling said the process has been frustrating as tenants have tried to get updates since the January fire.

"Sometimes it takes a little bit of a push to get some answers," she said.

She said she’s relieved customers will soon be able to see what remains in their storage units.

"I wish they would be a little bit more direct with the tenants, but I'm relieved that we're eventually gonna be allowed into the unit," said Behling.

Dig deeper:

U-Haul says two parts of the facility — buildings C and H — will be demolished and rebuilt. Building C was empty at the time of the fire.

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The company says the rest of the storage buildings will remain in place, and the Walker’s Point location continues operating while cleanup and recovery efforts move forward.

For Behling, the hope is that something from her father’s collection survived the fire.

"Hopefully it's sooner rather than later," she said. "I'm thankful that there's finally some answers."

What they're saying:

U-Haul provided the following to FOX6:

On behalf of Ben Milison, U-Haul Co. of South Eastern Wisconsin president, we would like to update you on our center that was damaged in January by a fire and provide clarity on what a recent pre-demolition survey showed as well as what parts of the facility will be demolished and rebuilt.

• We are currently operating at this location and serving DIY moving and self-storage customers as best we can.
• About 400 of the 1,200 self-storage units at the center were affected by the fire, or from soot and water stemming from the fire. Customers with belongings in buildings B, D, E, and H were impacted. These customers were notified through the contact information they have on file with us.
• Two sections of the location will be demolished and cleared: buildings C and H. Building C was empty, having never been built out. We are currently cleaning debris around building H. When this is done, we will contact the storage customers of building H so they can safely check to see what remains. This section will not be demolished before storage customers of building H have this opportunity. Building H had about 272 storage units that were affected.
• We recently received the results of a pre-demolition survey. The report is attached for your review. It states no areas of concern, with only a trace (0.019%) of asbestos found in one of 21 samples taken. The trace from the one sample was less than 1/50th of 1%. The report further states: "The EPA defines asbestos-containing materials as materials containing asbestos concentrations greater than 1%. Based upon the results of analysis, materials containing asbestos concentrations exceeding 1% were not identified at the site. It should be noted that trace amounts of asbestos (<1%) were identified in the sampled window glazing associated with the northwest structure at the site, and confirmatory analysis by the PLM Point Count method verified that asbestos concentrations were below the regulatory threshold of greater than 1%. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Asbestos Standard for the Construction Industry (29 CFR 1926.1101) and the EPA National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulate activities involving materials containing greater than 1% asbestos; therefore, the glazing is not classified as asbestos-containing material under federal regulations."
• Buildings C and H will be rebuilt. All other buildings will remain. U-Haul will continue to operate here to meet the community’s moving and self-storage needs.
• Customers with questions can call Ben Milison at (920) 246-5899.
• U-Haul, Milison and the Walker’s Point staff would like to thank the city, which has been very patient and great to work with under these difficult circumstances. U-Haul would also like to publicly express our gratitude to the First Responders, who did a remarkable job of responding to the fire and minimizing the damage to our center.