South Milwaukee should be proud of its dedicated, longstanding public employees. There are lots of them — and it’s hard to see them go.
Such is the case with Fire Capt. James Dorangrichia, who is retiring after more than 26 years with the department. He will be missed.
Here are a couple photos from his ceremony today, including a shot with shift teammates.
Good luck, captain!
Filed under City Services, Community, Fire
Here is the update from South Milwaukee Fire Chief Joe Knitter on the fire Tuesday morning on Elm Avenue …
At 10:28 this morning, SMFD Dispatch rec’d a 9-1-1 call of a smell of smoke in the house and smoke coming from the attic at 717 Elm Avenue. SMFD responded and upon arrival discovered moderate smoke coming from the roof and attic vents. SMFD Command upgraded the level of response to a Working Still which includes our mutual aid partners. All of the occupants were out of the home upon arrival of SMFD. Attack lines were stretched to the interior of the house to find fire involving the area above the cabinet soffit in the kitchen up into the attic and exiting through the roof vent. The fire was extinguished using minimal water. Because the fire was primarily located in the soffit and attic area, damage from direct flame contact and heat/smoke was more severe in the attic. The first floor suffered minor water and smoke damage. The occupants contacted their insurance company who was making arrangements for temporary housing. No injuries were reported. Investigators identified the area of origin in the cabinet soffit in the area above the kitchen sink. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Filed under Fire, South Milwaukee
Update: The victim has been identified as 58-year old Kay Bertrand, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Here is her obituary from Molthen-Bell & Son Funeral Home.
Tragic news from the South Milwaukee Fire Department: The woman rescued from Thursday’s blaze at 717 St. Sylvester’s Drive has since died.
Please continue to keep this woman’s family in your prayers.
Filed under Fire, South Milwaukee
From South Milwaukee Fire Chief Joe Knitter …
The SMFD ladder truck and myself responded to an apartment fire in Greenfield at 2:45 this afternoon on a 2nd alarm. Shortly thereafter, the fire went to a 3rd alarm and our crew was utilized to operate a Greendale ladder truck that was in close proximity to the building. I was assigned to supervise the back of the building during both the exterior operations and when coordinating interior operations on the 2nd floor. Both the ladder truck and myself were released from the scene at 7:00pm. None of our equipment was utilized and no injuries were reported. Staffing was maintained in our station with standby personnel who were already in quarters from a previous EMS call-in.
Please keep these families in your prayers.
Filed under Fire, South Milwaukee
From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …
At approximately 1:32 pm the South Milwaukee Fire Dept responded to a 911 call for the report of a residential house fire at 717 St. Sylvester Drive.
Upon arrival, fire units initial report of fire on first floor. Firefighters searched the 2nd floor and located a female occupant, extricated her outside to safety, then transported her to Columbia St. Mary’s and condition is unknown at this time.
Fire is under investigation and the State Fire Marshall has been called to the scene to assist in the investigation.
Fox 6 has coverage. I’ll keep you posted.
Filed under Fire, South Milwaukee
This is really cool, from the South Milwaukee Fire Department Facebook page.
Filed under City Services, Fire, South Milwaukee
Update: All donations are due March 4, and you can drop them off at City Hall, the Health Department or Fire Department.
From the South Milwaukee Fire Department …
Once again, all Milwaukee County fire departments have partnered with the Hunger Task Force to collect jars of peanut butter for the less fortunate. We are collecting it at the South Milwaukee fire station and all donations received here will be taken to Human Concerns for local distribution. Walgreens has officially joined the effort this year, as well, so you will probably see SMFD firefighters collecting donations at their store like we did last year. If you know someone in local industry or at the schools that would like to start a collection, please feel free to contact them or give us a call and we will !!!
Stop by the station to drop off your donation or, if a department wants to stockpile their own donations, give us a call and we can have someone stop over and pick them up. Thanks, in advance, for your efforts !!!
Filed under Community, Fire, South Milwaukee
Update: Further investigation has shown the fire began in the kitchen, but a cause could not be determined. And the firefighter suffered a neck strain, was released from the hospital and returned to work.
Some tragic news just ahead of Christmas …
Please keep the family of the victim — and the injured firefighter — in your prayers.
Here is the report from South Milwaukee Fire Chief Joe Knitter:
At approximately 1:26 this afternoon, the South Milwaukee Fire Department responded to a 9-1-1 call of smoke coming from the back of the house at 1609 Manitowoc Avenue. Upon the arrival of SMFD units, smoke was seen issuing from the house and the windows were heavily stained from the heat and smoke. The level of response was immediately upgraded to a Working Still which brings in mutual aid crews from Cudahy, St. Francis and the 128th Air Guard. Oak Creek Fire Department was unavailable to respond.
SMFD firefighters forced entry into the locked front door of the single-family ranch home and encountered heavy smoke and moderate heat conditions. A neighbor reported that there may be one male occupant that would probably still be in the house. While conducting their primary search of the house and advancing a hoseline, SMFD crews encountered a fire in the kitchen and discovered the sole male occupant who was unresponsive and obviously deceased. The fire was controlled, ventilation efforts initiated and the extension of the fire stopped while the rest of the dwelling was searched. No other occupants were found in the house.
Due to the fatality, the State Fire Marshall’s Office (SFMO) was notified and is responding to the scene at this time. SMFD and South Milwaukee Police remain on the scene conducting the initial stages of their investigation awaiting the arrival of the SFMO. The area of origin appears to be in the kitchen with the cause of the fire yet undetermined at this early stage of the investigation.
The sole male occupant, Age 80, has been identified but his identity is being withheld until his next of kin can be notified.
One member of the fire department did receive a shoulder injury and is currently being evaluated at St. Luke’s – South Shore Hospital.
Filed under Fire, South Milwaukee
What a sad story out of Cudahy … please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season.
Here are some headlines following Tuesday’s fire …
This from the South Milwaukee Fire Department …
On Friday night at 23:26 (11:26 PM) the South Milwaukee Fire Department received a call for a fire at Willowcrest Nursing Home. On arrival we encountered an active fire in the laundry room. Firefighters from South Milwaukee advanced hose into the fire room and were able to extinguish the fire quickly. We utilized our mutual aid agreement (working still) with Oak Creek, Cudahy, Saint Francis and the 128th Air National Guard who assisted in moving nursing home patients to protected areas of the nursing home away from the fire. With the frigid weather, evacuation of patients (all of which have mobility issues) was not an option. Nursing home staff and the South Milwaukee Police were also active participants in the patient movement.
The fact that the facility is protected by a well maintained sprinkler system (which activated) is a major contributor to the success of this event. There was an active fire in the laundry room!!! The sprinkler system kept the fire isolated allowing us the window we needed to advance hose and extinguish the fire (which is labor intensive). Without the sprinkler system, combined with the aggressive action by our firefighters this fire would have been catastrophic.
The cause is still under investigation and the Fire Chief can update anyone interested when he returns.
At this time there are no injuries to firefighters or civilians to report.
Thanks again to our firefighters for putting their lives on the line every day to keep us safe … and thank God no one was hurt.
Filed under Fire, South Milwaukee
Update from Chief Knitter: I am happy to report that WE Energies replaced one of the transformers feeding power to the siren and American Signal then reset an internal switch on the siren and it is now OPERATIONAL. Electronic polling (sending a signal to it remotely) and actual “growl” testing (making it spin and sound momentarily) were both successful. Both agencies believe the transformer may have been hit by lightning that caused both the transformer and the internal switch on the siren to fail.
Following up on Sunday’s storms, here is some more information on the tornado sirens in town …
South Milwaukee has two tornado siren locations: near the former middle school near Memorial Drive and at the South Milwaukee Fire Department. The siren at the fire department did not sound during Sunday’s storm.
Why? According to South Milwaukee Fire Chief Joe Knitter …
The problem with the siren has been identified to be inadequate power coming from the WE Energies transformer that supplies the required voltage to the siren. Apparently, the field technician identified an issue with one phase of the three-phase power that comes into the siren. When I heard the description of the problem, I recalled that we had a similar issue earlier this year. A search of the repair records by American Signal showed that we did have a similar issue back in May of this year and WE Energies had to come out to fix it. WE Energies has been notified by Milw. County Emergency Management.
Previously, Chief Knitter had sent me this update.
Milwaukee County Emergency Management is responsible for the operation of the forty-eight outdoor warning sirens located throughout Milwaukee County. These sirens are electronically tested daily at approximately 2 AM to determine their serviceability. In addition, an audible test of the sirens is done on the second Wednesday of each month, weather permitting. The results of these tests are reviewed and forwarded on to the contracted servicing agency to affect any repairs that may be necessary. Records indicate that the involved siren had no issues during the testing cycles. …
We have a very proactive emergency management system in our community. The City identified a problem with one of the sirens very shortly after the warning was issued and made the requisite phone calls to Milwaukee County Emergency Management to attempt to troubleshoot the problem. Jackie Ove, our Public Health Administrator and Emergency Management Director and myself, as Deputy Director of Emergency management, were in contact from the onset of the storm until the warnings had expired and the system had moved on.
Chief Knitter also has some good suggestions on staying informed during severe storms.
The Outdoor Warning Siren System is designed to be heard OUTSIDE only. It is not intended to be heard inside the confines of a building and should not be relied upon as the only alerting “system” for the public.
The absolute best weather alerting system available is a NOAA Weather Radio. These radios broadcast continuous weather information, including warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, directly from the nearest National Weather Service office. In addition, radios are available that are powered by batteries, thus providing reliable advanced warning, even in the event of a power outage. The next best source of information is our 24/7/365 news media. All of our local news and radio stations do an excellent job of informing the public, especially considering they are able to broadcast live radar and provide up-to-the minute updates.
Filed under Fire, South Milwaukee, Weather
South Milwaukee’s commitment to breast cancer awareness and research continues to amaze.
At Tuesday’s city council meeting, South Milwaukee school leaders and students presented checks totalling nearly $9,000 for the Susan G. Komen Justice for a Cure campaign. That includes $8,279 raised through the high and middle schools, $226.86 from Lakeview Elementary and $400.11 from Rawson Elementary. T-shirt sales alone — both through the schools and the South Milwaukee Fire Department — topped $7,000.
Thanks to Police Chief Ann Wellens, the DECA marketing class at the high school and other local and school officials for leading this effort. It’s great to see South Milwaukee continue to get behind worthy causes like this.
Please keep Donald Rupert’s family in your thoughts and prayers.
Mr. Rupert — a 34-year veteran of the South Milwaukee Fire Department and former owner of South Milwaukee Recharge, a local business that provided fire extinguisher inspection and recharging services in the South Shore — passed away Sunday at the age of 85.
Here is the death notice. Services are Wednesday at Divine Mercy.
Did you know Donald? Post your comments below.
Thankfully, no one was injured in the fire at 313 N. Chicago Ave. in South Milwaukee this morning … but there was extensive damage to the home. Please keep the family in your prayers.
Here is the report from the South Milwaukee Fire Department …
At approximately 10:13AM this morning, SMFD received a 911 call of fire in the living room at 313 North Chicago Avenue. Due to the nature of the 911 call, an immediate request for a “Working Still” level response was called bringing in mutual aid assistance from Oak Creek, Cudahy, St. Francis and the 128th Air Guard. Upon my arrival, dark smoke was issuing from the front door and a front window that had broken out from the fire. Contact with the occupants proved that all had self-evacuated and the fire was located in the living room. Hoselines were laid to the front door and a quick knockdown of the fire was made by SMFD crews. Additional crews performed a search of the dwelling to confirm the absence of occupants. The occupants also evacuated their pets from the house. Heat and smoke damage to the living room was extensive with moderate to extensive smoke damage to the rest of the first floor and moderate to light smoke damage to the 2nd floor and basement. WE Energies was called to the scene to control the utilities and the American Red Cross was requested to assist the family with lodging and belongings. No injuries to the occupants or fire personnel were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage to the structure is approximately $50,000.
Filed under Fire, South Milwaukee
A 27-year-old Milwaukee motorcyclist died in a crash late Tuesday afternoon at College and Robert Avenues in Cudahy, various media outlets are reporting.
The driver of the car involved in the accident was reportedly a 55-year-old South Milwaukee man, who police said did not yield the right of way.
Filed under Cudahy, Fire, Police, South Milwaukee
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