Police: 6 dead in apartment fire in southern Wisconsin
Oct 20, 2022, 8:33 PM | Updated: Oct 21, 2022, 2:10 pm
HARTLAND, Wis. (AP) — Police say six people died in an apartment fire early Friday in the southern Wisconsin village of Hartland, not seven as authorities originally reported.
The cause of the fire at a four-unit apartment complex has not been determined, although Hartland Police Chief Torin Misko called it an “active criminal investigation.”
Misko said multiple fire departments and police departments responded and helped evacuate individuals from the building and from balconies. He did not have information on whether others were injured.
“This is a tragic incident for the first responders involved,” Misko said.
A total of 10 people were displaced by the fire, including two families of four and an adult couple, American Red Cross spokesman Justin Kern said.
Misko said investigators are “still learning a lot of information as we work through.” Village leaders said they also had more questions than answers.
“There is a community that’s hurting. There is a neighborhood behind me that’s hurting. This whole community is,” said Jeffrey Pfannerstill, village president. He said a vigil was scheduled later Friday.
“Everybody’s in shock,” village trustee Ann Wallschlager said. “For something like this to happen in our village, it’s very heartbreaking.”
Hartland is 26 miles (42 kilometers) west of Milwaukee.
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The number of fatalities has been corrected from seven to six in this story.
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