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Another fire at abandoned Northridge Mall; 7th response in 15 months

Firefighters yet again braved dangerous conditions while responding to a fire at the neglected old Northridge Mall complex in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee's fire chief says this is at least the seventh time firefighters responded to a fire at the abandoned mall in 15 months.

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MILWAUKEE — Firefighters yet again braved dangerous conditions while responding to a fire at the neglected old Northridge Mall complex in Milwaukee.

According to a statement from the Milwaukee Fire Dept., crews responded around 8:30 a.m. Thursday to the mall for a report of a smoldering fire in the atrium.

Firefighters put out one fire but soon discovered indications as many as six additional recently set fires.

Milwaukee Fire Dept. Chief Aaron Lipski has been vocal about how responding to incidents at the old mall puts his firefighters in dangerous situations.

'You're going to kill my firefighters': MFD responds to 4th fire at former Northridge Mall in 3 weeks

According to their statement, the chief said, “I cannot overstate my frustration. This property remains inherently dangerous to Milwaukee firefighters who are repeatedly called to reports of fires at this location. It is also extremely dangerous to trespassers and vandals at the site... This morning is at least the seventh time firefighters have been called to the Northridge property in the last fifteen months. Action must be taken promptly to end this dangerous situation before people are severely injured or killed at this vacant and neglected site.”

Northridge Mall has sat vacant for nearly 20 years after it shut down in 2003. The City of Milwaukee issued a demolition order in 2019 to try to tear it down. A Chinese company that owns the property has been fighting it in court ever since.

Read MFD's press release:

WHAT: FIRE EARLY THIS MORNING AT THE FORMER NORTHRIDGE PROPERTY

DETAILS: The Milwaukee Fire Department has received inquiries regarding the fire early

this morning, November 2, 2023, at the former Northridge property.

At about 8:30am the department responded to a report of a smoldering fire

inside the Northridge atrium. Upon arrival, firefighters located and quickly

extinguished one fire, and discovered indications of as many as six other

recently set fires. The Milwaukee Fire Department remained at the scene for

approximately 20 minutes.

“I cannot overstate my frustration. This property remains inherently dangerous

to Milwaukee firefighters who are repeatedly called to reports of fires at this

location. It is also extremely dangerous to trespassers and vandals at the

site,” Chief Aaron Lipski said. “This morning is at least the seventh time

firefighters have been called to the Northridge property in the last fifteen

months. Action must be taken promptly to end this dangerous situation

before people are severely injured or killed at this vacant and neglected site.”