Category Archives: Fire

From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …

At approximately 3:43 AM this morning (Sunday, Nov. 30), SMFD rec’d a 9-1-1 call reporting a house fire at 509 Madison Avenue. Upon arrival of SMFD units, light to moderate smoke was found issuing from the basement and 1^st floor of a two-story residential dwelling.  SMPD units were already on scene and could not confirm the presence of any occupants, so a hoseline was stretched to the interior and a primary search was conducted while a fire in the basement was extinguished.  Additional arriving mutual aid companies were assigned to search the rest of the building.  All searches were negative, however, fire was also located on the first floor and extinguished.  Overhaul was conducted and all areas of potential fire spread checked for extension.  Damage to the building was limited to one room on the first floor and a small area of the basement. The fire is currently under investigation by SMFD and SMPD investigators.  No injuries were reported.

From South Milwaukee Fire Chief Joe Knitter …

Please keep the family impacted by this fire in your thoughts and prayers, as well as the firefighters who battled the fire in freezing cold temperatures.

At approximately 10:10 this morning, SMFD responded to a report of a roof fire at 727 Madison Avenue. Upon arrival, light smoke was seen issuing from the attic area of the house. Further investigation revealed a small fire burning under the insulation in the attic. Hoselines were stretched into the attic to extinguish the fire and a lengthy overhaul process ensued to remove all the damaged insulation. Fire damage was isolated to a small area of the attic with minor water damage resulting to the ceiling below where the fire was burning. The American Red Cross was requested to the scene to assist the occupants with housing since the furnace was placed out of service due to wiring leading to it being damaged in the fire. No injuries were reported.

Weather conditions at the time of the fire were very cold at 17 degrees with steady winds at 10+ mph resulting in wind chills near zero. Unfortunately, winter weather is upon us.

From South Milwaukee Fire Chief Joe Knitter …

At approximately 6:36PM this evening, SMFD rec’d a 9-1-1 call for a house fire at 701 Marshall Avenue.  Upon arrival of SMFD units, smoke was observed coming from the second floor windows.  The sole male occupant of the single-family residence had self-evacuated prior to our arrival.  Crews entered the building and discovered a fire burning in a bathroom on the second floor.  The entire second floor, with the exception of two bedrooms to which the doors were closed, suffered extensive smoke damage. The bathroom suffered damage from the fire, as well as damage from the water used to extinguish the fire. The first floor suffered moderate smoke and water damage. Due to the damage, the occupant was told he could not stay in the house this evening and was offered assistance from the American Red Cross, which he refused stating he had family he could rely on.

The fire was contained to the second floor bathroom.  The probable cause of the fire is careless use of smoking materials based on statements made by the male occupant. No injuries were reported.

Thanks to our firefighters for their continued service, keeping us safe from harm.

(And thanks to Working Still Photos for the images.)

“After a detailed examination of the scene and interviews with the occupants and witnesses, the area of origin of the fire has been identified as the northwest corner of the enclosed porch. All electrical, mechanical and natural causes have been eliminated, however, the cause of the fire remains undetermined.”

Here is the full press release from the South Milwaukee Fire Department.

Thankfully, everyone got out safe following the house fire at Ninth and Marquette Avenues this evening. Please keep this family in your prayers — and thank a firefighter. I will post more details when I get them.

From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …

At approximately 5:14PM last evening (Tuesday, June 10), SMPD Dispatch rec’d a telephone call from a male caller who stated he needed a fire engine at 1725 Michigan Avenue and hung up the phone.  Without knowing the exact nature of the call or even if an emergency existed, SMFD responded with an engine to investigate.  While responding, Capt. McCoy could see a column of smoke rising into the sky in the area of the call and immediately requested that the level of response be upgraded to a Working Still for a structure fire.  The Working Still level brings in assistance from our mutual aid partners.  Upon their arrival, the encountered a single-family Capt Cod style house with heavy smoke “pushing” from the attic.  Hoselines were deployed to attack the fire while additional personnel and equipment arrived and an SMFD attack crew made their way into the 2^nd floor and attic and extinguished the fire.  No injuries were reported.  Damage to the attic and 2nd floor was significant.  As can be seen in the attached photos, the house was being re-roofed at the time and both the workers and the homeowners reported that their 60-amp electrical service repeatedly blew fuses when the contractor’s air compressor kicked in.  The fire remains under investigation by SMFD Lt. Frost, but involvement of the electrical system cannot be ruled out absent a detailed examination by a qualified electrical professional.

Here is coverage from TMJ4.

Here is the update from Fire Chief Joe Knitter on the fire Saturday morning on and near Marquette Avenue …

At 4:48AM, SMFD was dispatched to a possible brush fire on the lake bank at the end of Menomonee Avenue at Lake Shore Blvd.  While responding, the SMFD engine was notified by Dispatch of a garage fire in the alley behind 509 Marquette Avenue.  The SMFD engine re-directed to that fire and encountered a detached one-car garage fully involved in fire.  While responding from home, I then responded to investigate the brush fire call and discovered a large area of brush burning down the bank and spreading rapidly due to the winds coming off the lake.  I requested a Cudahy engine that was responding to the garage fire to respond to my location and had them extinguish the fire on the lake bank.  An Oak Creek engine was directed to staff our station during these fires.

Investigators remain on the scene at the garage fire at this time.  However, due to the destruction, identifying a positive cause will be very difficult.  No injuries were reported. The garage and its contents are a total loss.  In addition, the vinyl siding on the house at 509 Marquette, the garage at 511 Marquette and the garage across the alley at 510 Montana Avenue suffered damage from radiant heat.