Milwaukee Fire Department 150th Anniversary: History of the Milwaukee Fire Department

The Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) has a rich history that dates back to the early days of the city’s founding. The department began as a volunteer organization that had a single truck company. Today, it operates out of 31 fire stations and consists of approximately 700 firefighters.

In the beginning
The origins of firefighting in Milwaukee are traced back to 1837, when the village of Milwaukee formed its first volunteer fire company. The organization reached its peak with eight hand-drawn engines, two hook and ladder companies and a hose company in 1857.

The Civil War drew many of the department’s members into the Union Army. A steam fire engine was purchased in 1861, requiring an engineer to operate it. These matters prompted the hiring of the first paid employees. As more steam engines were added, more paid firefighters were needed. In 1875, Milwaukee established a full-time, paid fire department.

Early major incidents
The MFD faced numerous challenging incidents during its history that shaped both the department and the city itself.

The Newhall House hotel fire. Located in the heart of downtown, the Newhall House was Milwaukee’s most fashionable hotel. Around 3 a.m. on Jan. 10, 1883, an elevator operator noticed smoke coming up the elevator shaft. Fire spread quickly through the building, and by the time Engine 1 and Truck 1 arrived, people were jumping from upper floors.

Firefighters went into rescue mode, because the fire was so far advanced. The only aerial ladder that was available, a 65-foot extension ladder, broke upon raising, leaving only ground ladders available. Life nets were useless because of telegraph and telephone lines that surrounded the building. When the carnage was over, 71 people were listed as dead and at least seven more unaccounted for. This was the greatest loss of life in Milwaukee history and demonstrated the department’s lack of proper aerial ladders and the city’s lack of building codes.

The Third Ward fire. The fire began on Oct. 28, 1892, when spontaneous combustion occurred in the Union Oil and Paint Company building. Strong winds quickly spread the flames.
Initially, firefighters believed that they had the blaze under control. However, the fire jumped to nearby buildings.

The fire destroyed at least 440 buildings. Five people died, including two firefighters, who were killed when a wall collapsed on them. At least 350 families were displaced.

Many residents moved to other neighborhoods, and the Third Ward transitioned to a business district upon its rebuild.

The Davidson Theatre fire. The alarm on April 9, 1894, was sounded when flames were seen coming from the roof of the theatre. The theatre was packed with scenery and costumes, which hampered rescue efforts and added fuel to the fire. This made the firefighting operation particularly difficult.

At around 5:00 a.m., a roof collapse occurred, which sent at least 20 firefighters into the burning theatre below. Firefighters worked to extinguish the fire and rescue their trapped comrades, but despite their efforts, nine firefighters lost their life.

Innovations
Although the department purchased its first motorized vehicle in 1907, it took until 1927 to fully motorize the MFD. Early in the transition process, most of the apparatus that were purchased were Seagraves, but between 1926 and 1930, the department repair shop built its own apparatus and other vehicles. Using regionally sourced components, the staff at the shop turned out approximately 25 engines, city service trucks and hose wagons. The Great Depression put an end to this work.

After World War II, the MFD bought equipment primarily from Pirsch and Mack. In the 1990s, E-ONE engines were purchased, followed by Pierce rigs starting in 2000. 2024 Republican National Convention funding facilitated the purchase of three E-ONE engines.

Fireboats
Because Milwaukee is situated on Lake Michigan and three rivers feed into the lake, industrial and maritime activities built up along the rivers. For shore-based fires, the river was the main source of water. Rail lines and grain elevators along the shore limited access to these fires. In 1889, the first fireboat was purchased. The 106-foot Cataract pumped 5,000 gallons of water through two pumps.

At one point, the MFD operated four boats along its rivers, frequently using three at large fires. As the cost of crews and coal to operate the boats became prohibitive, the fireboat fleet was reduced.

Today, the department utilizes a 2007 Metalcraft boat, the Trident. It can pump 3,500 gpm for firefighting operations.

Rescue squad
The MFD rescue squad was established in 1919. It was outfitted with breathing equipment and masks that came out of World War I. The squad also carried an early-type inhalator that was employed to revive overcome firefighters.

Soon, the squad was responding to drownings, electrocutions and the like. As the public learned of this service, calls increased. More squads were implemented, including auxiliary squads that were engine companies that were equipped with an inhalator.

By the Vietnam War, the MFD was running six van-type rescue squads and 10 auxiliary squads. The federal government recognized that an emergency medical system that included national standards and requirements was needed. In Milwaukee, that meant a huge change in how local EMS was provided. The Milwaukee Police Department ran the ambulance service, and MFD rescue squads only transported if it was a dire emergency. By 1977, MFD rescue squad members all were trained to the EMT level. On Jan. 1, 1978, MFD became responsible for all EMS.

The paramedic program expanded to 13 units, a bike response team, a tactical EMS (TEMS) team that responds with police tactical units, and a community paramedic group that makes home visits to patients who require assistance outside of emergent criteria.

The Community Paramedic Program was expanded to include the Milwaukee Opioid Response Initiative (M.O.R.I.), which pairs the MFD and social workers with patients who seek assistance in opioid addiction recovery.

Structure-specific strategies
During the 1960s, the MFD developed two innovative strategies to facilitate firefighting in the city’s bread-and-butter structures. A good portion of Milwaukee’s older housing stock includes 2½-story wood-frame structures that use balloon construction. These houses often have narrow gangways between them. To control fires in these structures and to prevent extension to neighboring buildings, two strategies evolved.

First is the “jump and run,” or quick-attack concept. Once water tanks became standard for engine companies, crosslays that consisted of five sections of 1½-inch hose were incorporated. Five sections are used because that length reaches most attics from the street.

The first-arriving engine lays the preconnect to the fire, and the operator drops the tank. The second-arriving engine supplies the first engine with hydrant water.

The second strategy is for topside ventilation. The 2½-story structures have steep roofs. Truck companies that vent the roof proceed with three people who carry two roof ladders and a 35-foot ground ladder. The ground ladder is extended, and two members go up with the roof ladders, which are positioned over the best place for ventilation.

Special teams
The MFD scuba team was formed in 1961. Lt. Dan Lipski (grandfather of current chief Aaron Lipski) and Firefighter Joe Pellegrin recognized a need within the community. Starting with primitive equipment, the team evolved into a full dive-rescue team and is recognized as one of the best in the country.

The department developed a hazmat response team in 1983. Beginning with only a station wagon and some reference materials, the team grew to more than 70 members and is part of the Wisconsin Hazardous Materials Response System.

When a large, deep-tunnel sewer project was being constructed during the early 1980s, Battalion Chief Daniel Lipski (Aaron’s brother) led the way in 1985 in forming a tunnel team that provided rescue services for construction workers. This was followed by a high-angle rope rescue team in 1991. Realizing the need for specialized rescue services, the deep-tunnel rescue team and high-angle rescue team merged to form the Heavy Urban Rescue Team (HURT). It deals with building collapses, high- and low-angle rescues, confined space rescues and other situations.

Education and outreach
In 1987, two horrific residential fires occurred only one month apart. In the first fire, 12 people were killed. Ten children were among the victims. No smoke detectors were present in the house. Only two weeks later, six children died in another house fire. Again, there was a lack of smoke detectors.

In the aftermath, Mayor John Norquist named a commission to address causes of such fires and to identify solutions. The commission came up with a number of solutions. The first was the FOCUS (Firefighters Out Creating Urban Safety) program. On-duty fire companies go door-to-door in high fire areas to hand out and install smoke detectors and give fire safety information.

The second was the Survive Alive House. This cooperative effort between the MFD and Milwaukee Public Schools teaches second- and fifth-grade students fire safety and how to escape from a burning building.