MILWAUKEE, Wis. — On Tuesday, in 11 separate instances, 16 fires blazed across the city of Milwaukee. Milwaukee's Fire Chief, Aaron Lipski, said the fires are now being investigated as arson.
Lipski said the fires seemed intentionally set in garbage cans and piles in alleys that spread to homes. One person impacted is north side resident Peter Jones.
"This house is more than money to me. It's legacy," Jones said outside his north Milwaukee home Wednesday.
The home on North 9th Street has been in Jones' family for decades.
He was on the brink of finding renters after months of renovations.
"[It's] devastating because like I've said, I've put so much work, so much time and energy into it," Jones explained.
The picture shows the inside renovations of Jones' home before Tuesday's fire broke out.
The pictures of the fire's aftermath are shocking for Jones.
"Very upsetting. It's just showing me that lunacy is at an all-time high," Jones added.
Jones isn't the only Milwaukeean impacted by Tuesday's fires.
"Y'all gotta do better. Milwaukee has to do better," Marlena Moore said.
Moore's home also caught fire Tuesday near 49th and Center.
Cell phone video shows the inside of her kid's bedroom with their beds destroyed, as sunlight peaks through the home's melted walls.
"These kids shouldn't have to go to no shelter or nowhere cause somebody wanna run around causing fires that could've killed them. Not even just from the fire, smoke inhalation kills people," Moore said.
Moore's family is now displaced and asking for donations to stay afloat.
For Jones, he's asking the city to step up and preserve his property so this doesn't happen again.
"They left it in worse shape than they found it. It's more susceptible to arson now, after they left yesterday, then before they came," Jones said.
"You think they should've boarded it up more or concealed the house more," Rae asked.
"Yes, I mean that's just common decency," Jones responded.
Milwaukee Fire said it's the Department of Neighborhood Services (DNS) responsibility to board homes up after tragedies like this. We called and emailed DNS about when they planned to be out at Jones' home, but haven't heard back.
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