Hilario Perez's family had to evacuate their apartment near 9th St. and Orchard St. in the Historic Mitchell Street neighborhood early Saturday morning to escape a fire.Perez lives in the building's upstairs unit and believes a lightning bolt struck the roof, sparking the fire, though the Milwaukee Fire Department said the fire is under investigation. Watch Paris Fransway's report in the video player below: Resident believes lightning strike sparked Milwaukee apartment fire"My kids started screaming, 'Pa, the house is on fire,' but three minutes prior we heard a big lightning, and that is when it struck the house. Lightning struck the house on the corner on the back side," Perez said.According to MFD, the fire was put out, and they evacuated nine people from the multi-unit residence. Thankfully, no one was injured. Perez said he heard lightning strike."A big bang, like bang! We heard it too close," Perez said.Perez said he knew they had to leave quickly once he saw smoke."We are right on the top floor. We've got to be able to get out. In my head I was like, 'I hope there is no fire by the steps,' and I just grabbed my papers and documents that I need. Everything else we left behind," Perez said.For Perez, what mattered most was his family's safety."That's all that matters. My family is safe, my kids are safe, and the stuff it is just clothing, and we can buy that back," Perez said.Genaro De Morla, who owns the building, echoed that sentiment."Everyone came out clean, and that's what I was worried about that there would have been a person beaten or that had been burned," Genaro said originally in Spanish. From the front, the building appears largely intact. From the back, however, the damage is clearly visible. Pieces of burnt wood and roofing from the structure are stacked in the yard.Perez said he spent the hours after the fire in his car, reaching out to family and friends for help."It is all wet, it is all damaged," said Perez. "I've been staying in my car all night, since 3 a.m. just staying, just thinking asking family members and friends if they can come up with something."Hilario said he is now focused on finding a new home for his family.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip ...read more read less