Milwaukee's Driftwood Sauna Club Destroyed in Early-Morning Fire, Owner Devastated

Derek Collins had spent six months building Driftwood Sauna Club from the ground up, working on it every single day without a partner, something he had never done with any of his other Milwaukee businesses. He showed up to 820 S. Water St. on the morning of March 20 to set kindling and found the 40-foot sauna reduced to ruin.

"It was really devastating," Collins said. "I was in such disbelief."

The fire started around 5 a.m. in Milwaukee's Harbor District, reported first by a boater backing into Jones Island who initially gave Milwaukee Fire Department an incorrect address near Bay Street before the corrected location was relayed. MFD crews responded and extinguished the blaze, but the damage was already complete. Nobody was inside the building and no firefighters were injured. The Fire Investigation Unit and the Milwaukee Police Department are jointly investigating the cause, which remains unknown.

Driftwood had been open for just 27 days. Collins launched the club on Feb. 21 after a half-year of daily preparations, and the opening-day party on March 7 drew more than 100 people. The facility featured two saunas wired with Bluetooth speakers and a cold plunge, and Collins had designed the space around casual conversation, the kind of easy socializing that sauna and cold-plunge culture naturally encourages.

"There's been a lot of tears in our family. I can't believe it. It still really hasn't set in," Collins said. "I want to rebuild. To see it burned, it really hurts. I really poured my heart and soul into this project."

Driftwood was the first business Collins launched solo. He also operates Milwaukee Peddle & Paddle Tavern, Brew City Kayak, and Milwaukee By Bike, but he described Driftwood as something different: a passion project, not a partnership. That distinction makes the loss sharper.

Relatives have set up a GoFundMe to help Collins and his family rebuild the business. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by MFD's Fire Investigation Unit and the Milwaukee Police Department.