The Brief
- Residents returning after a Christmas Day fire report heavy smoke odors and visible damage, making their units feel unsafe.
- Tenants claim they face financial penalties for moving out, despite property management allegedly telling city officials there would be no consequences.
- The Department of Neighborhood Services is investigating the conflicting reports and encouraging residents to file formal complaints.
MILWAUKEE – Some tenants are back home after a Christmas Day fire. Now, they say they are faced with unlivable conditions.
Facing unlivable conditions
What they’re saying:
It is not exactly how Coralee Kolar hoped to start 2026. This, after a Christmas Day fire at her residence in Colonial Creek Apartments near 60th and Cold Spring in Milwaukee.
“It’s been, it’s already a nightmare when you go through such a traumatic experience and then, to deal with the aftermath,” Kolar said. “You also see, see a lot of damage.”
Kolar is among a group of Milwaukee tenants allowed to return Friday. But now, they say they have a tough choice.
“I’m nervous to stay here. I don’t wanna stay here. It makes me uncomfortable,” Kolar said. …