At least seven people are dead in an apartment fire in Wisconsin  

At least seven people have died in an early morning fire at a Wisconsin apartment building. 

The fire broke out at 5.11am on Friday in the 700 block of Mansfield Court in Hartland, about 26 miles from Milwaukee. 

According to CBS 58, at least 15 fire departments and nine police departments with the were called to the scene for the blaze. 

The group of first responders were unable to save at least seven individuals inside what some have described as a duplex. 

This is the ‘four family apartment building’ where seven people were killed in a fire early Friday morning in Hartland, Wisonsin

Heavy police and fire presence was seen Friday morning on Mansfield Court in the Village of Hartland as officials worked to quickly extinguish a heavy blaze

Elaine Rojas-Castillo with TMJ4 spoke with one neighbor who said that they had heard a loud boom before fire officials were called to the scene.  

WISN’s News Chopper 12 flew over the scene earlier Friday morning and noted heavy damage to the building. 

A reporter inside of the helicopter said he also observed heavy smoke coming from the home. 

Hartland Police Department Chief of Police Torin Misko held a press conference Friday morning, confirming the very few details known at this time. 

‘We received reports of a fire within a four-family apartment building,’ Misko said at the beginning of the briefing. 

The police chief said that officers and firefighters were met with ‘a large amount of fire’ immediately upon arrival. 

During the process of the rescue, Misko said that they attempted to rescue individuals both inside of the building and some who were ‘on the balconies’ hoping to be rescued. 

It’s unclear how the fire started, but police said they have launched a criminal investigation.

‘It’s very early on in the investigation,’ Misko said, ‘that’s what we’re looking into now.’ 

‘It’s under active investigation, I just don’t have those details.’ 

One startling moment came when Misko stated that the fatality number from the fire is at seven ‘right now,’ indicating that the number could change. 

The chief said that there is no information on ages or identities of the victims at this time. 

He also said that he could not confirm if all seven deaths were from the fire or if there may have been other factors involved. 

‘Unfortunately, this is a very active and dynamic situation, we’re still learning a lot of information as we work through this.’ 

The Wisconsin Fire Marshal’s Office has also been called in to assist in the case, Misko confirmed, along with the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department, the Wisconsin Crime Lab, and multiple other agencies. 

‘This is a tragic incident for the residents and the community involved,’ an officer said during a press conference this morning. 

DailyMail.com spoke with a representative from the Village of Hartland’s Police Department who confirmed that as of noon Eastern Standard Time, police and fire crews were still at the scene. 

The representative confirmed that a press release with more information would be coming shortly, but did not share how soon that info would be available. 

This is a developing story