A Milwaukee fire lieutenant fell from the attic through the floor and into the second story of a house fire Thursday morning.
The fire broke out at the home near 29th and Greenfield Avenue on the city’s South Side. Milwaukee’s fire Chief Aaron Lipski told WISN the firefighters arrived and made an aggressive interior push that had to be halted when the lieutenant went through to the second floor.
The lieutenant, a 15- to 20-year veteran, made it out of the home safely. He refused medical treatment, instead remaining on the scene to fight the fire, but Lipski said, “You’re flying on adrenaline, so we’re keeping a close watch.”
“We had a very, very close call here today,” Lipski told WISN. “What goes through my mind is many of our recent fire fatalities result from firefighters going through floors . . . I’m grateful we’re able to talk about this in these terms.”
A woman and her two children were able to escape the fire before fire crews arrived. The chief said it’s too early to determine the cause of the fire at this time.
