Milwaukee Fire Department

05/29/2020

Today the Milwaukee Fire Department and Ignite The Spirit-Milwaukee teamed up to unveil a new fire department approved t-shirt that our members can wear on duty during the month of June to support PRIDE month. Your Milwaukee Fire Department supports our LGBTQ firefighters and our LGBTQ community members. What better way to show your support than buying a t-shirt! The t-shirts are available to the public and can be pre-ordered here http://www.ignitethespiritmke.org/ All proceeds will be split between Ignite the Spirit-Milwaukee and Courage MKE. Ignite the Spirit-Milwaukee is a non-profit organization within the MFD that works to support firefighters and their families who have suffered unfortunate hardship. Courage MKE is an amazing local organization that provides a nurturing and supportive environment as well as resources for LGBTQ+ youth in our city. Often times these youth don't have the support system they need that Courage MKE provides. They are a much needed organization within our community.

Order your t-shirts now while they are still available!! The pre-sale runs until June 14th, at which time shirts will be printed and shipped to supporters.

05/25/2020

Today we honor all the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Because of your sacrifices, we are able to live in the greatest country on earth and enjoy all the liberties we do. Thank you for defending our freedoms.

05/23/2020

Many thanks to Smoke Shack for their incredible barbecue dinners! They donated 25 meals to four firehouses Friday night and it was pure deliciousness! Thank you so much Smoke Shack!
Located at 332 N. Milwaukee St. In Milwaukee or order online at www.smoke-shack.com

05/21/2020

Many thanks to Kohler Co. for their donation of over 2000 face shields for our firefighters! We appreciate you and your help in keeping our firefighters safe!!

05/16/2020

Today we honor all the men and women of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard who have served or are currently serving our country to keep us safe and to preserve our rights as a free people. Thank you for your service to this great nation. You are the true heroes in America.

05/14/2020

We would like to send out a big thank you to Wahlburgers, Crescent Capital Group, and Hyvee for allowing us to participate in transporting the 600 donated burgers to our healthcare workers at St. Luke's Medical Center and St. Luke's South Shore today. These folks are in the trenches for all of us 24/7, 365 and we sure do appreciate them! In addition, they are donating another 400 burgers to Sinai Hospital and West Allis Memorial tomorrow!

05/12/2020

Milwaukee Police Department Tribute to Our Fallen Officers

This week we honor all fallen police officers in law enforcement who have made the ultimate sacrifice and their families. Across the state and country we honor and pay tribute to them.

This year, due to the Corona virus, a virtual candlelight service will be held on the evening of May 13, 2020 at the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington D.C. One of the traditions at the Police Memorial following the Candlelight Service is that of the Midnight Piper. At midnight, a lone bagpiper walks through the granite memorial that displays the names of all of the fallen and plays appropriate bagpipe tunes to honor their service and memory. One of those tunes is Amazing Grace.
Since we could not Honor our Fallen in Washington D.C., members of the Greater Milwaukee Fire and Police Pipes and Drums have decided to Honor our Fallen by performing our own version of the Midnight Piper. Lone pipers will be at various Police Headquarters throughout the State on Wednesday May 13, 2020. Pipers will arrive at their designated locations at 11:50pm on Wednesday, May 13 to tune their bagpipes. Then at precisely 12:00 midnight, all of the bagpipers at those various locations will simultaneously play Amazing Grace in Honor of the Fallen.

At this time the locations are as follows:
Milwaukee PD—749 W. State Street- Milwaukee
West Allis PD---11301 W. Lincoln Street- West Allis
Greendale PD---5911 W. Grange Ave-Greendale
Cedarburg PD---W75N444 N. Wauwatosa Rd--Cedarburg
Port Washington---(Coal Dock Park)190 South Wisconsin Street—P.W.
Brown Deer PD---4800 W. Greenbrook Dr.--Brown Deer
St Francis PD--3400 E. Howard Ave-St Francis
New Berlin PD—- 16300 W National Ave.—New Berlin
Sheboygan PD---1315 North 23rd—Sheboygan
Racine PD---730 Center Street—Racine
Coleman PD---202 E. Main Street---Coleman,Wi-
Wi. Law Enf. Memorial—E.Mifflin&Pinckney—Madison,Wi
Palmyra PD---126 North 1st Street- Palmyra
West Bend PD—350 Vine St.—West Bend
State of Oregon- 10 pipers at various locations in the state

Although the 2020 Greater Milwaukee Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony has been postponed due to COVID-19, the Milwaukee Police Department would like to take ...

05/10/2020

Sending our Mother’s Day wishes to all who are mothers, and to those who serve in the role of a mother by caring for others. To all mothers across our wonderful city: best wishes for a very happy and blessed Mother’s Day. Thank you for all you do for our families and our community!

05/08/2020

On Wednesday, firefighters temporarily stationed at Station 28 received lunch compliments of Subway on 76th and Howard. On Thursday, pizza dinners were delivered to Stations 1, 2, and Station 5, compliments of @Flourchildpizza, the newest restaurant from the same owners of Merriment Social and Third Coast Provisions. Many thanks for your generosity to our firefighters! It is appreciated and the meals were delicious!

05/05/2020

Sam's Club on 124th Street has been treating our firefighters at Stations 8, 39, 4, 38, and 24 these past 4 Thursday's to their delicious pizza! Many thanks to Sam's Club for your generosity during this pandemic. Special thanks to Michelle, the Membership Lead at Sam's, for taking the time to deliver all of them herself while they were hot!

04/30/2020

Today the Milwaukee Fire Department as well as the Milwaukee Police Department, Milwaukee County Sheriffs Office, Milwaukee Department of Public Works, Milwaukee County Transit System, Bell Ambulance and House of Harley took part in a parade to show our support of 13-year-old Jayla Rodriguez who is in home hospice after battling cancer for the past 8 years. We even had a Princess come down from Princess My Party to participate!
Our hearts and prayers go out to Jayla and her family. It was a very moving experience and was greatly appreciated by her family.

04/27/2020

Blood donations are still needed!. Blood is perishable and cannot be stockpiled in advance (it has a 42-day shelf life). Red Cross and I’m sure Versiti, are closely working with hospital partners to understand their blood needs and to be good stewards of the blood supply. The healthcare system is a very dynamic situation right now! While many elective surgeries are being cancelled at hospitals to reduce exposure and maintain resources. But, canceling elective surgeries doesn’t eliminate the need for blood. There are several reasons patients might need blood that can’t be cancelled - emergency surgery, car accidents, trauma, new moms with complications during childbirth, or patients battling cancer who need lifesaving transfusions.

As for where to donate, you can visit Redcrossblood.org and search by zip code. The website is the most up-to-date way to see which existing blood drives are still running or which new blood drives have been added to our calendar.

Another thing you might hear about blood banks is convalescent plasma. People who have fully recovered have antibodies in their plasma that can attack the virus, and that is being used as a treatment for critically ill COVID-19 patients. If someone is interested, there’s a lot of info on the Red Cross website and how to sign up to make that type of donation.

04/25/2020

Sending a shout out to Reliant Fire Apparatus and Tenuta's Italian Restaurant for supplying the hard working men and women of our MFD Repair Shop with lunch on Friday. Thank you for your generosity and for the amazing food! #Reliantfireapparatus #TenutasItalianRestaurant

04/23/2020

So over the last two weeks, The Soup Otzie's in Bayview donated their amazing soups, awesome bread and scrumptious cookies to over 60 firefighters and dispatchers! Molly McCowan, one of the proprietors, along with her son Jaden, personally delivered all the meals. The men and women of the MFD thank you! #LoveSoupOtzies #Thesoupotzie

04/22/2020

Our fire department has been truly humbled by the outpouring of support during this pandemic through kind words, meals, messages and more. We are so very fortunate to live in such a caring and giving community.

And, many businesses and families in our community are really struggling right now. If you are able to support those businesses through a food purchase or gift card purchase for yourself, an unemployed neighbor, the Rescue Mission, or anyone else in need, the business and the recipient would be forever grateful!

There has never been a more important time for us to come together to support the local businesses we know and love. We all have our favorite go-to spots and I know we all want to see our local businesses make it through.

The good news? Our community has the love and support to lift up local business neighbors and keep them afloat. Many remain open for takeout or delivery, or are offering gift cards as a short term solution for boosting cash flow.

Thanks for caring Milwaukee! YOU make it a great city in which to live! #Milwaukeecares #Gettingthroughthis #Stayhomesavelivesmke

04/21/2020

I would like to share a letter Chief Rohlfing sent out to the entire department in recognition of Administrative Professional's Week.

Members of the MFD:

This week is Administrative Professionals Week! Our MFD support staff, whether in Administration, Health and Safety, the Training Academy, Technical Services, or the Shop, is a group of talented individuals who are extremely dedicated to being a crucial part of the MFD team. Just like field personnel, they represent ultimate professionalism; however, from behind the scenes, assisting members, outside agencies, and the public with commitment, compassion, and undisputed expertise. They perform extremely important roles in our organization, and do so seamlessly. Throughout the department’s various dedicated areas of service, the administrative professionals are indeed a key ingredient in the MFD’s success.

Much like first responders and dispatchers, MFD support staff have truly “stepped up-to-the-plate” during this COVID-19 Pandemic. They come in to work every day, many working long hours to support our members in the field. In order to keep these individuals safe and healthy to continue to serve us all, they are working from home now whenever possible. As each individual support member is generally “one-of-a-kind in nature of duty,” if one of them “goes down,” an entire working facet of the behind-the-scenes work goes down. I am as protective of them as the boots-on-the-ground members. Thank you for supporting them, as they continue to serve to support you!!

THANK YOU MFD ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS for your unfailing dedication to this department; you are truly an integral part of TEAM MFD!!

Mark Rohlfing
Fire Chief
Milwaukee Fire Department

04/20/2020

COVID-19 has hit many people and businesses very hard financially and otherwise these past few weeks. Here are some resources that may be helpful whether you are a tenant, landlord, homeowner, a small business owner. or are unemployed because of COVID,

COVID-19 Resources for Businesses https://city.milwaukee.gov/DCD/BusinessToolbox/COVID-19-Resources.htm#.Xp37JM17nV8COVID-19 Resources for Businesses

COVID-19 Community Resources Guide https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/COVID-19/Coronavirus-Community-Resources-Guide

COVID-19 Response & Basic Needs Resources https://communityadvocates.net/who-we-are/covid-19-response-and-resources.html
#helpduringCOVID #COVID19resources

04/18/2020

This past week was Emergency Telecommunicators' Week, where we recognize our unsung heroes on the fire and police departments, our dispatchers. There was a whole slew of activities planned for this week but unfortunately, because of the Covid-19, we were unable to carry them out. In addition, these past several weeks have been extremely busy for them as they deal with the additional COVID-19 calls. We appreciate our fire and police dispatchers and thank them for helping to keep our firefighters, police officers, and the public safe! Thank you for all you do 24/7, 365 days a year! #Stayhomesavelivesmke #Ourdispatchersrock #Appreciateourdispatchers #Thankadispatcher

04/17/2020

Milwaukee PBS

Darin Malkowski, former MFD media specialist, attended Cpt. Bill Paulin's send off and I had to share the piece he did for PBS. Phenomenal job depicting Bill's service!

It is tradition for the Milwaukee Fire Department to honor retirees on their last day of service by bringing in nearby rigs and crews and erecting 2 ladder trucks with the U. S. Flag hanging between. Everyone lines up, the retiree shakes hands and hugs those in line, says some final words, drives out of the firehouse in their vehicle passing below the U.S. Flag, and is saluted by all personnel present. It is an emotional event and one met with mixed emotions by the retiree as we truly love the job.

Because of the current COVID-19 pandemic, they have to do things differently as the department is doing its best to comply with social distancing as well. So, the Milwaukee Fire Dept. is honoring Captain Bill Paulin by meeting near his home to honor his years of service to the Milwaukee Fire Department and the U.S. Army.

Capt. Paulin served for 30 years with the city of Milwaukee Fire Dept. and 30 years of service to our country with the U.S. Army as a Command Sergeant Major.

04/17/2020

Cooking fires are the most common fire in the home. Hopefully you never need it but it's better to be safe than sorry!

America is cooking! Make sure you have a working fire extinguisher in your home, America!

04/17/2020

Today we say best wishes for a happy retirement to Fire Captain Bill Paulin who epitomized service to community and country, having spent 36 years in the U.S. Army and 30 years on the Milwaukee Fire Department. Anyone having the privilege to work with Captain Paulin quickly came to realize his passion for service, professionalism, and leadership. We have all learned a great deal from him through his actions, words, and deeds. In addition to his service to the fire department, he also attained the rank of Command Sergeant Major, the highest enlisted rank in the Army other than Sergeant Major of the Army. He was deployed three times during his tenure on the department and was responsible for the safety and welfare of thousands of soldiers over the course of his career.

Because of the current pandemic, we were unable to give Captain Paulin the customary fire department send off but rather came to him at his home doing our best to keep social distancing which was a challenge with the amount of firefighters who were there to congratulate him!

Bill, wishing you all the best in your well earned and deserved retirement. It has been an honor to serve with you.

04/16/2020

So very thankful to Ma Fisher's and #Mealsmattermvt who are delivering 46 meals to 6 firehouses today and tomorrow! We are appreciative beyond words for thinking of the men and women of the Milwaukee Fire Department during this pandemic! #Mafischers #Stayhomesavelivesmke

04/14/2020

Unfortunately, Milwaukee had it's second fire fatality in as many weeks, both times an older adult. The first home had no working smoke alarms. The second home did have working alarms which woke up the rest of the family of 6 and allowed them to escape. Unfortunately, the older adult on the second floor where the fire started was unable to escape.

Please take a moment and check each alarm and make sure it makes a loud beep when you test it. If your alarm is over 10 years old or doesn't emit a loud beep, replace the alarm as soon as possible.

In addition, set up and practice an escape plan with your family, including where to meet when going outside. It's so important to practice a few times a year so if you have a fire, everyone automatically knows what to do. Here is a great resource for making and practicing an escape plan in your home. https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Staying-safe/Preparedness/Escape-planning

If you have more questions about smoke alarms or escape plans, please message me and I would be happy to discuss in more depth.

Stay safe, stay healthy Milwaukee!

04/10/2020

Yet another great Wisconsin business helping out your Milwaukee Fire Department! A big THANKS to family owned #HendricksDistillery in Omro, They donated 2 five gallon pails of hand sanitizer for our firefighters. We appreciate you! #pureclassvodka #Stayhomesavelivesmke