‘He was a good man’: 72-year-old man who survived Covid dies in apartment fire

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    MILWAUKEE, WI (WDJT) — A 72-year-old man who recently recovered from COVID-19, died in an early morning apartment fire in Milwaukee Thursday, Jan. 27.

Firefighters were called to Burnham Hill Apartments, near 29th and Mitchell around midnight.

“I had to go to each floor and yell, ‘get out, a fire a fire,'” said Sharon Lucas, resident.

The Milwaukee Fire Department reported one person died as a result of the fire and two others were taken to the hospital. The victim was identified as 72-year-old Nathaniel Beal. His children are left devastated.

“My sister called me and then I talked to my brother and I just straight up on my feet and screamed,” said Yolanda Harris, victim’s daughter.

Beal’s family says his legacy will live on.

“We are going to miss our dad. He was a good man. Everybody has their flaws but he still was a good man. That was our daddy,” Harris said.

Beal’s death hit especially hard because he was just released from the hospital last week after battling COVID-19 for weeks.

“With going through and fighting COVID, getting passed that, we thought we were out of the red,” said Nathaniel Anderson, Beal’s son.

Beal’s children say his father’s death is a reminder to everyone to not take relationships for granted.

“If you all ever ever feel a need please be there for your family. Be there for your mom and dad. You never know when the day will come,” said Teresa Williams, victim’s daughter.

Two people were also taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. Every resident from the complex was displaced. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

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