Milwaukee fire station at 8th and Hayes reopens; ribbon-cutting ceremony
MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Fire Department held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 8, commemorating the reopening of Fire Station 31.
The ability to reopen Fire Station 31 and its Engine Company 31, along with adding a paramedic unit, MED 8 to Station 28, are made possible due to 2025 budget funding by the City of Milwaukee.
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"We also cannot state enough the impact of a fire station in the community. As healthcare and insurance corporations divest from this city, we remain committed to investing in public health. Our firefighters are essential ambassadors who not only risk their lives to save others, but also install free smoke alarms, teach children how to make safe choices, and much more," Alderwoman Dimitrijevic said.
"There's been a lot of house fires in the neighborhood," said Timothy Bartlein, who lives in the same neighborhood as the reopened fire station.
Bartlein lives just a few feet from a house fire that occurred in April on S. 8th Street. One person died in that fire – and a firefighter was severely burned.
"Just in April. We lost one of our civilians, one of our residents here just across the street," Chief Lipski said. "It set in motion a wave of emotions and a wave of logistical and kind of data-driven considerations about where should we put our resources. And this was where we needed to put our resources."
Engine Company 31, Milwaukee
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Fire Station 31 was closed effective Dec. 18, 2017 due to budget cuts, decommissioning Engine 31 at that time as well.