Three-Alarm Fire Causes Serious Damage to Furniture Store

MILWAUKEE - A three-alarm fire broke out in a furniture store shortly after 9 p.m. Friday evening.

Telephone reports began to come in saying that the furniture store inside the strip mall near 14th and Center was on fire.

Upon arrival, The Milwaukee Fire Department saw heavy smoke an attempted to make an interior attack. They worked on that for a short while before realizing that it was not a great move to stay inside.

"I'll draw your attention to Charleston, South Carolina," Deputy Chief Lipski said, "That's where nine firefighters died on the scene in a not too dissimilar situation. Lot's of opportunity in a furniture store in a strip mall like this for the fire to travel."

The Deputy Chief for the Milwaukee Fire Department said that crews made an incredible call to come out of that building because roof failure and imminent collapse was evident. They had eight firefighters inside at that time and it was still early in the alarm.

The Milwaukee Fire Department was able to eventually get the fire under control. Several other surrounding buildings were evacuated.

No firefighters were injured. The owners of the furniture store believe no one was inside at the time of the fire.

"What does a firefighter want to do? A firefighter wants to fight fire. That's what we all came on the job to do and we love to do it. For a vacant building, a building that's not occupied, there's absolutely no cause to kill a firefighter in that case," Said Deputy Chief Lipski.