By Tracy Ouellette
Staff Writer
The fire that blazed through an apartment building in the Honey Creek Apartment complex Thursday morning displaced more than 60 people, Village of East Troy Police Chief Jeremy Swendrowski said.
“We don’t have an exact count because Honey Creek doesn’t keep a record of how many kids are living in an apartment in the family, but we’re guessing between 65 to 70 people, including adults and children, have been displaced,” Swendrowski said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Swendrowski said they were reviewing videos taken from neighbors that appear to show the fire broke out on the second floor of the building.
In a strange twist, a second fire broke out at Accurate Housing, which is just down the road from the Honey Creek Apartments, Thursday just before noon.
Swendrowski said the call for that fire came in just as the assisting fired departments were being released from the apartment fire.
“It worked out perfectly because they were able to respond immediately to the second fire and they put that one out in about 90 minutes,” Swendrowski said.
The cause of the Accurate Housing fire is believed to be accidental, Swendrowski said.
“The report isn’t done yet, but we kind of know how that one started,” he said. “It looks like one of their employees noticed smoke coming out of the dust collector shed; it became engulfed in flames and activated the sprinkler system in the main building. The fire did spread a little to the main building but it was put out quickly.”
Help out
The East Troy Family and Community Resource Center, East Troy Community School District, East Troy Food Pantry and Helping Hands of St. Peter’s have teamed up to help the victims of the Honey Creek fire.
The organizations are in contact with the Salvation Army to offer services.
Families can go to Helping Hands, 1981 Beulah Ave., East Troy, for clothing and toiletries. Families can shop in a controlled environment and Helping Hands has masks for the family members as they shop.
The East Troy Food Pantry has ready-to-eat food items and bottled water and will be open from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, or by appointment by contacting Marolyn at 262-642-4900.
The food pantry also has volunteers ready and willing to privately meet with any of the tenants in need and provide assistance with immediate food needs and other supplies. The East Troy Food Pantry is at 2861 Austin St., East Troy. The emergency contact is Mary Lou at 262-949-8163.
Because of the COVID-19 restrictions, mass donations of clothing or other items are not being accepted by Helping Hands, School District or the Resource Center.
Monetary donations to help the families displaced by the fire are being accepted at First Citizens State Bank and Citizens Bank through May 22.
Donations of $10 or $20 gift cards for Dollar General and Walmart are also being accepted to help families meet immediate needs.
See next week’s edition of the East Troy Times/News for the full story on the fires at Honey Creek and Accurate Housing.
