Milwaukee fire station closed temporarily: 'Major structural issues'

Milwaukee fire house deemed unsafe

Fire Station 30 was deemed unsafe by a city engineer and was evacuated Thursday.

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Fire Department has temporarily closed its fire station near Teutonia and Locust after "major structural issues" were found, officials announced Thursday, Dec. 30.

Fire Station 30 is an "older-style" station, built in 1911, with a basement beneath the large apparatus floor. According to MFD, evidence of a partial failure of the apparatus floor, which houses fire trucks and more, was observed.

"These firehouses were built, you know, for the horse-drawn fire apparatus when they were originally built. And over the course of renovation and the years, we secure the floors," said Deputy Chief Erich Roden.

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MFD consulted with the Department of Public Works and the city engineer, who determined the fire station must be vacated. Further assessment and repair planning will start next week. There is no timeline for returning to the fire station at this time.

"There's a tremendous amount of weight on that floor. And again over the years, those floors take a beating and the fire trucks are going in and out particularly in that firehouse," said Roden.

Milwaukee Fire Station 30 near Teutonia and Locust

Fire companies normally assigned to serve from Fire Station 30 will be reassigned to respond from neighboring Fire Station 5, near 13th and Reservoir. That station has been non-operational for many years, MFD said, and provides an adequate temporary location in the near term.

The department's 2019 annual report found the closed station was the city’s busiest – with a total of more than 10,000 runs.

"It's one of our most active firehouses in the city. It's one of the busiest in the state, actually in the Midwest. So it's a firehouse that we need, obviously," Roden said.

"I am glad, though, that the fire department caught it when they did," said Acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson. "I'm glad that, you know, they're able to continue providing services to the people who live in that neighborhood as well. So it's something that we'll address and we'll also make sure that the folks who live in that neighborhood continue to get the services that they need as well if they need it."

Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski notified the acting mayor and the alderpersons most directly impacted by this as soon as the situation became clear, according to a news release.

The deputy fire chief said they had contingency plans in place in case a firehouse goes down because of civil unrest or natural disaster. That plan went into place to quickly get the crew to their temporary home, joining the other 29 fire stations in the city.

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