Milwaukee firefighters go door-to-door offering free smoke alarms after deadly weekend fire

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee firefighters returned to the scene of a deadly weekend fire Monday, March 22.

They were there to try to make sure the neighborhood never sees that kind of tragedy again.

They walked the area near 15th and Oklahoma offering free smoke detectors to people who might not have any right now.

One of their neighbors died in a house fire last weekend.

Acting Fire Chief Aaron Lipski says already this year, firefighters have battled five fires that resulted in deaths, and in three of those homes, there was no working smoke detector.

"Any one of these firefighters, if any one of these homes was on fire, as this one was on Saturday morning, they will lay down their life for whoever's on the other side of that wall," he said. "Better yet, a working smoke detector gets these people on the front lawn before we ever pull up."

The chief says his people are doing everything they can, but they can't do it alone.

If you don't have a working smoke detector, don't wait for Milwaukee firefighters to bring you one.

Call the Smoke Alarm Hotline at 414-286-8980 and they'll come out and install one free of charge.