Plane crash, baby delivery, fire and more keep fire department busy

From a plane crash-landing on a golf course to a baby delivery, stable fire and more, Lake Country Fire & Rescue was extraordinarily busy Tuesday.

DELAFIELD, Wis. - From a plane crash-landing on a golf course to a baby delivery and more, Lake Country Fire & Rescue was extraordinarily busy Tuesday, Nov. 15.

For emergency responders, it's all in a day's work – it's just not usually so much packed into 12 hours.

The season's first real snowfall delivering traffic calls was only the tip of the iceberg. It started with a baby delivery in a car and snowballed from there.

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"Certainly a birth happens a lot in any community. It doesn’t necessarily happen in a moving vehicle pulling up to a fire department every day," said Matt Haerter, assistant fire chief. "The baby was born very healthy."

The same workers who helped deliver the baby went on to help with a Nashotah stable fire that left two horses and three dogs dead.

Stable fire in Nashotah

From there, they responded to a plane that crash-landed at Western Lakes Golf Club in Pewaukee with three people and 53 dogs on board – all of whom are now safe.

"It was essentially a cargo aircraft, but it was carrying especially precious cargo," Haerter said. "It’s beyond, lucky beyond measure.

"The victims could’ve been injured worse," he added. "They could’ve crashed a little further and hit a hospital. They also could’ve hit the interstate. All of these things aren’t just 'what ifs' – they’re very, very probable outcomes."

SKYFOX: Plane crash lands at Western Lakes Golf Club

Three people and 53 dogs were on board a plane that crash-landed at Western Lakes Golf Course in Pewaukee on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The wings were sheared off the fuselage.

Another possible outcome was not having the people available to help.

"Our staffing issues are a daily crisis," said Haerter.

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Lake Country Fire & Rescue has a plan to hire more full-time staff members. Recently approved by the fire board, it now moves to the municipalities to determine funding.

Haerter said a busy day like Tuesday only underscored that need, and how proud he is of the team he has.

Lake Country Fire & Rescue

"They refused to let the staffing, or how many of them are at work, or how many calls are coming in, or what type of a call it is get in the way of them being professional problem-solvers," he said.

This week is also Crash Responder Safety Week, something the department asks the community to keep in mind as nearly every week a responder is killed while helping with a roadway call.