Milwaukee Fire Department has released the results of the investigation into the fire that destroyed Lincoln Avenue School, 1817 W. Lincoln Ave., on the morning of June 30.
While the fire was deemed not to be arson, said MFD Chief Aaron Lipski, “Tragically, there was human error involved.”
Lipski said that floor maintenance work being undertaken by staff during the summer break likely led to the blaze, as solvents were being used and rags with these solvents were placed in garbage cans.
Video from inside the building provided by MPS to investigators was “invaluable,” according to Lipski.
About 30 minutes before the fire alarm was sounded, a wisp of smoke was seen on that video coming from a garbage can in the hallway on the second floor in the northeast corner of the bulding, Lipski said, leading to flames, likely via spontaneous combustion.
Open hallway doors and open windows contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze, he added, as did extreme ambient temperatures in Milwaukee at the time. The high temperatures on June 29 and 30 were in the 90s.
MPS Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said that after viewing the video, maintenance staff immediately underwent training, and new rules for disposal of oily and chemical-doused rags was implemented.
MPS will conduct its own internal investigation, Cassellius said, and will determine whether or not any disciplinary action will be taken.
The fire that decimated the building – which opened in 1918 – started in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 30 and raged for hours as firefighters battled it in extreme heat.
Milwaukee’s Historic Preservation Commission approved the request to demolish the building on July 6 and what remains of the structure is set to be pulled down in coming weeks, the MPS superintendent said.
That work will be funded by a recently received insurance payment of $5 million, she added.
The district is still working with Travelers Insurance on what the final insurance payment will be, Cassellius said, adding that the cost of a new school building is around $50 million.
“These buildings are longer assets,” she said of some MPS buildings, which have an average age of more than 80 years, “they are liabilities.”
The Lincoln Avenue School program has moved into space in Pulaski High School that had been occupied by the Carmen charter program. That school recently moved into its own new building.
Milwaukee Public Schools has not yet shared a plan for the long-term future of the program or the now-vacant Lincoln Avenue building site.
You can read a history of the Lincoln Avenue School building here and take a look inside the Pulaski High School building here.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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