Milwaukee Legislators Push Fire Sprinkler Bills After Deadly May Fire

(Left to right) Ald. Milele Coggs, State Sen. Dora Drake, Mayor Cavalier Johnson, State Sen. LaTonya Johnson, Chief Aaron Lipski, Ald. Sharlen Moore, State Rep. Margaret Arney at fire station 32. Photo taken Oct. 27, 2025 by Graham Kilmer.

After a deadly apartment building fire in May, Milwaukee-area state legislators are trying to change state law to protect renters living in housing stock that does not meet modern standards for fire safety.

A legislative package announced Monday would require an audit of sprinkler systems, create a grant program funding sprinkler installation and giving local governments the authority to enact new fire suppression requirements.

“People living in these buildings don’t get to choose whether their apartments have modern fire protection,” State Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) said. “They just pay their rent in the places that they can afford to live and hope for the best.”

Johnson was joined by State Sen. Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee), State Rep. Margaret Arney (D-Milwaukee), Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, and Common Council Members Milele A. Coggs and Sharlen P. Moore outside Milwaukee Fire Station 32, 1551 N 30th St., Monday to announce the bill package. The station’s fire engine and ladder truck were the first units that arrived at the scene of the deadly fire at the Highland Court apartments, 2725 W. Highland Blvd.

The fire at the 85-unit apartment building displaced hundreds of tenants and took the lives of five people. In the days following the fire, Lipski said the blaze turned deadly in part because the building, constructed in the 1960s, did not have a sprinkler system.

“So this fire station knows something about what could be done to prevent such a horrible situation,” Lipski said Monday. “Something so simple as sprinklers.”

State law has required buildings 60 feet or taller to have sprinkler systems since 1974. Older buildings, like the Highland Court apartments, were grandfathered as exceptions to the law. Powerful State Assembly leader Robin Vos, who is also a landlord, has pushed back against stricter requirements. Such a change in state law “might feel good for the moment,” but would increase the cost of housing and homelessness, Vos said in the days following the deadly fire.

Recognizing that these systems are expensive to install, the proposed legislation would allocate $10 million for a grant program funding sprinkler installation. Landlords across the state would be able to apply for funding.

There is also a bill directing the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services to conduct a statewide audit of sprinkler systems, “so local fire departments and building officials know where the gaps are, and they know where these buildings are located,” State Sen. Johnson said. 

A third bill would give cities and counties authority to establish their own requirements for sprinkler systems. “So the legislation includes some common sense measures that’ll help us at the local level,” said Mayor Johnson.

Johnson noted that Milwaukee has some of the oldest housing stock in the state. Chief Lipski said his own research suggests that 70% to 80% of the city’s high-rise residential housing stock was built before the 1974 state requirements were enacted, “meaning nobody was spending any extra money on sprinklers, because they didn’t have to.”

The bills will “help local leaders to better understand the scope of the problem, while also providing some prevention tools,” Lipski said, adding that the bills represented a “huge step forward” considering the state is only 50 years into requiring sprinklers for new construction.

“There are many things that our residents our dealing with, they shouldn’t have to fear if their housing is up to date,” Drake said.

The hope is that the legislation will attract the bipartisan support it needs to pass the Legislature, State Sen. Johnson said. Asked about Vos’ previous resistance to new sprinkler requirements, she noted that there are a number of state officials who are also landlords. “Of course, it will cut into their bottom line, which is why we tried to create the grant to ensure that we take away some of that burden,” Johnson said.

From the fire chief’s point of view, arguments about affordability are moot if the housing is dangerous in the event of a fire.

“The argument is survivable housing, survivable housing,” Lipski said. “Don’t talk to me about affordable housing if you’re not going to make the housing stock safe.”