By Bill Carey
FireRescue1
MILWAUKEE — One person has died and a Milwaukee firefighter was seriously burned during a rescue at a house fire on April 14.
Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said firefighters were dispatched to an “entire house was on fire” and received credible reports of a person trapped when they arrived, WISN reported.
While trying to rescue one victim in the attic of the house, the attic “became 100% involved” in flames, trapping a firefighter, Lipski said.
Lipski said the firefighter was trapped deep inside the house for more than 10 minutes. He used his training to stay alive, Lipski told Fox 6.
The training the injured firefighter relied on came from his father, a former Milwaukee firefighter who had pushed to implement the training years ago.
“We credit Ryan’s training with saving his life here today. We credit the training and the drive and the dedication, the aggression, the smart firefighting of his counterparts, his pier firefighters, in saving his life here today,” Lipski said. “This was a very marginal fire. I am telling you. We were probably 30 seconds away from talking about planning a firefighter funeral today.”
Lipski said the firefighter suffered burns to 23% of his body and that he is being treated at a local hospital.
