MFD: Quicker emergency response times on Milwaukee's south side due to reopening of Fire Station 17

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Fire Station 17 on Milwaukee's south side has been up and running for about two weeks now, after shutting down due to budget cuts.

The Milwaukee Fire Station 17, located at 4653 S. 13th St. closed in 2021 and funding, thanks to a new Wisconsin law known as 'Act 12,' allowed its reopening on Jan. 8.

 "When it closed, it was one of the most devastating days during my time as alderman," said District 13 Ald. Scott Spiker.

"It was sad to see that the city was going to have less available resources in times of emergency," added Carlos Velazquez Sanchez, the Director of Community Relations at the Milwaukee Fire Department.

Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said the fire station has played a key role when emergency has struck in the last several days.

"Already, you know, in a very short period of time, we've had two house fires out of here," he said. "Also, we were able to respond from this station and help our partners in Cudahy in a major apartment fire, this engine was pivotal."

Lipski said the city is starting to forge a path out of some difficult years. A keep a fire station running, it normally costs around $1.9 to $2.1 million annually.

The response time for another nearby fire station when Engine 17 was shut down differed by just a minute or two but that could be the difference between life and death.

"It isn't just that you have a fire station, you have to have apparatus in it and on that apparatus, you need to have firefighters staffing it to go out the door to provide the service," he said.

However, staffing shortages are still present. Lipski said that 27 years ago, when he started, the team consisted of about 300 people protecting the city.

"When I came on the fire department, we had 16 ladder companies protecting 96 square miles.... we now have eight ladder companies in the city," he added.

And though demand has skyrocketed, over a third of their staff has been cut off because of budget, Lipski said.

Bringing Fire Station 17 back to life will help many people in the area, many of whom may very well be experiencing the worst day of their lives.

"It was able to happen because of our elected officials, ultimately, working together despite that hype-politicized environment," he noted.

Ald. Spiker advocated for the fire station to reopen so that it can properly serve one of the most diverse districts in the city.

"We are literally steps away from the Islamic Center across the street, we have several senior communities around of us, we have a burgeoning Latino community," Ald. Spiker said.