Wisconsin Apartment Fire Leaves Two Hurt

MILWAUKEE --

A Milwaukee mother and her 4-year-old son are badly hurt after a two-alarm apartment fire.

The fire broke out at about 9 a.m. on West Fond du Lac Avenue near North Bourbon Street.

Firefighters said neighbors helped each other escape.

Fire crews were unable to save the Arbor Gardens neighborhood apartment complex.

"I just crawled to my balcony, I stood up and I was so overcome with smoke I couldn't breath," victim Walter Neal said. "A couple of guys from Time Warner came up. Praise God Im still around. They came up and got me over that balcony.

While Nearl was lifted downstairs, a man was heading up to help the woman and the young boy.

"He said he heard some screams. He said he went upstairs to see if he could help. He said knocked on the door, and didn't hear anything so he went back downstairs to get some water to help put the fire out. That's when the stuff from the porch from up underneath started melting on top of him," Shelleen Abdul-Salaam -- the mother of a resident -- said.

By about 10:30 a.m., firefighters had left but investigators were still combing through the rubble looking for where the fire started.

Firefighters said that someone actually ran to a station to alert them to the fire.

"I was in my office. The doorbell rang. The lady was frantic, saying there was a fire. As soon as we opened the doors you could see we had a violent aggressive fire -- no question we were going to upgrade that to a second alarm," Battalion Chief Tom Jones said.

The woman and her son were rushed to a hospital for treatment. In all, five people were injured.

It's a number that could've been worse without a fire station nearby and quick-thinking citizens.

"We need more people like that to lend a hand when they see the need," Deputy Fire Chief Jerry Dillard said.

The boy was taken to Children's Hospital. His mother is at Columbia St. Mary's. They're both in critical condition.

The fire department says there were no working smoke detectors in the unit.

Damage is estimated at $100,000 and the cause is under investigation.

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