Mom Threw Young Daughter Out of Burning Apartment Building to Save Her. Now She’s in the ICU and Neighbor Is Accused of Arson

A Milwaukee mother is still fighting for her life after making a split-second decision to save her 9-year-old daughter from a burning apartment — while a fellow resident now faces multiple felony charges tied to the fire.

The blaze sparked just after 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 16 at an apartment building on Fardale Avenue near South 27th Street and Loomis Road on the city’s south side, according to FOX6 Milwaukee, WISN and CBS 58. Five people were injured, the outlets reported.

The mother, identified as Kessy, 28, and her daughter, Ni’Lah, 9, were trapped on the second floor as smoke choked the hallway — the only exit from their unit — according to a GoFundMe created by a family member.

With no clear way out, Kessy pushed Ni’Lah from a second-story window in a desperate attempt to keep her from being overcome by smoke or flames, FOX6 Milwaukee and CBS 58 reported, with WISN confirming the circumstances.

A neighbor outside saw what was unfolding and caught Ni’Lah before she struck the ground, according to the outlets.

“She’s pushing her daughter out the second floor,” Ni’Lah’s grandmother, Diana Falcon, told CBS 58. “At this point, it’s safer to throw her from the second story on the ground than for her to burn alive.”

Ni’Lah was taken to a hospital and later released. She suffered a leg injury and minor smoke inhalation, FOX6 Milwaukee and WISN reported.

Another child who escaped by jumping from a window sustained a broken pelvis, according to WKRC. Other victims were hospitalized with injuries including severe smoke inhalation and lacerations. Those hurt ranged in age from 9 to 64, the outlet reported.

Kessy remains in intensive care under heavy sedation and on breathing tubes, according to FOX6 Milwaukee and WISN.

Firefighters responding to the scene had to rescue multiple residents from second-floor windows, the outlets reported, as some people jumped to escape the heavy smoke and flames.

Investigators later arrested 44-year-old Keith Luko — also a resident of the building — in connection with the fire, according to the outlets.

A criminal complaint alleges surveillance video showed Luko moving personal belongings out of the building hours before the fire, then running from the scene as flames erupted behind him, FOX6 Milwaukee, WKRC and WISN reported.

After his arrest, Luko allegedly told investigators he poured gasoline in the hallway and ignited it with a lighter, claiming he was angry that neighbors were smoking marijuana inside the building, according to the complaint cited by the outlets.

Luko has been charged with eight felonies, including arson, first-degree reckless injury and six counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.

The fire left all eight units unlivable, displacing an estimated 25 residents, according to the Red Cross, per FOX6.

“In a matter of minutes, everything my sister’s family owned was destroyed,” the fundraiser created by Kessy’s family says. “While the lost physical items can be replaced, some were irreplaceable personal items.”