9-year-old girl killed in Milwaukee northwest-side fire identified
A 9-year-old girl was killed in an apartment fire Sunday, a day in which the Milwaukee Fire Department responded to multiple emergencies throughout the city.
The girl was identified Monday by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office as Aria I. Jacque.
Firefighters found her in a bedroom of her home, on the 8500 block of North Servite Drive, after a fire was reported there at 11:23 a.m. Fire officials reported "extreme hoarding conditions" and no working smoke detectors inside.
The Fire Department reported Sunday that Aria and an elderly female victim were trapped in the two-story, eight-unit apartment. The elderly victim was taken to Froedtert Hospital and is in critical condition. Aria died from her injuries shortly after arriving at Children's Hospital.
The Journal Sentinel was unable to reach her family Monday.
A neighbor, Velma Moore, said Monday the girl appeared to be living with her grandmother, who had been living in the apartment for several years. Moore said little to the family other than every-day hellos.
She said she watched Aria get taken away by first-responders Sunday.
“I cried when I saw the little girl,” Moore said. “I said, ‘That baby gone.’”
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Crews were able to control the fire by 11:53 a.m.
At 11:27 a.m., MFD responded to another fire — on the 2200 block of South 12th Street. Crews found a fire in the rear stairwell of the two-story wood-framed building extending between the first and second floors.
The fire was under control by 11:43 a.m. and no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
At 12:53 p.m., MFD responded to the 1400 block of North Franklin Place for a fire in a two-story wood-framed apartment building. One adult female was transported to Columbia St. Mary's Hospital with minor injuries. The fire was under control by 1:05 p.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Fire Chief Aaron Lipski urges Milwaukee residents to have at least one working smoke alarm in their home.
Milwaukee residents can receive free smoke alarms
Any Milwaukee residents who are in need of a smoke alarm can call the city’s smoke alarm hotline, at 414-286-8980, to arrange a free installation.