Crime & Public Safety
Multi-vehicle fire engulfs parking structure near Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa
An afternoon fire in a hospital parking structure in Wauwatosa consumed multiple vehicles after a crashed car leaked gasoline and ignited, injuring the driver. According to police, the 88-year-old driver was involved in a crash at a nearby construction area that damaged his car, then drove into the Froedtert Hospital parking deck where gasoline ignited and spread to other vehicles. Video from the scene showed heavy smoke and large flames as crews arrived.
Chronology supplied by responding agencies places the onset around 12:30 p.m.; the driver exited the SUV and walked to the emergency department on his own. Wauwatosa Fire personnel searched the parking structure for visitors and staff while firefighting crews worked to control the blaze. Firefighters ultimately extinguished the fire; hospital staff reported the structure’s integrity had been assessed for safe vehicle departure.
Agency statements distinguish documented facts from ongoing inquiries: police and fire reports identify the gasoline leak after the crash and the subsequent ignition as the proximate causes, and investigators continue to examine the sequence and contributing factors. The hospital has closed the deck to arriving vehicles while assessments continue, but officials indicated vehicles that were present during the fire are being allowed to depart.
The incident remains under investigation by Wauwatosa authorities. No further injuries, charges, or determinations about criminal conduct have been reported by the investigating agencies in the supplied information.
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