Milwaukee apartment fire; residents salvage what they can from homes [Video]

MILWAUKEE – Brand-new video shows fire tearing through a Milwaukee apartment complex on Thursday, July 4.

The fire destroyed much of the building and a car. Days later, families salvaged what they could.

Years of Keira Smith’s hard work burned in a matter of seconds.

“Everything that I had worked hard for was just gone,” Smith said. “It was just breathtaking to arrive home and to see my house in flames.”

How it started

The fire ripped through her apartment building near 84th and Mill.

Smith and other eyewitnesses say it began not far from an electrical box.

“It started from my home, electrical box that sits on the side of my house, it went to my neighbors,” she said.

On Monday, the Milwaukee Fire Department was not able to confirm how exactly the fire began.

“It was some people doing fireworks, but …