Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski

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Photo by Tom Jenz

Aaron Lipski and Cavalier Johnson

Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski (left) with Mayor Cavalier Johnson

The Milwaukee Fire Department's motto is “Courage, Integrity and Honor.” After my conversation with Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, I concluded that he embraces these valuable traits.

We met at a downtown coffee shop on September 11, 2023, the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 World Trade Center tragedy. Over 300 firefighters were killed in the line of duty. For Fire Chief Lipski, that day marks a sorrowful anniversary.

“We had several 9/11 memorials in Milwaukee this morning,” he said, “one at the War Memorial Center. I attended the event at our downtown fire department headquarters on Wells Street. We read aloud the names of the 343 firefighters who died at the World Trade Center. We do this every year on 9/11, and it brings up emotions. It was such a horrible tragedy.” 

I think he wanted to say more, but the words would not come out. The mission of a firefighter is not just to save houses or buildings, but also to save lives. Fighting fires means working inside a canopy of high risk.  

Lipski is only 49, young for a big job. He is native to Milwaukee, having been raised in various residences on the North Side. His firefighter lineage goes way back to 1912. His dad, grandfather and great grandfather were Milwaukee firefighters. 

When you were still a student, did you want to be a firefighter?

No, I wanted nothing to do with it. My father had been injured a number of times. He’d come home dog-tired and smelling like smoke, bandages over his wrists, sometimes broken bones. Like many firefighters, the top of his neck and ears were burned. As a teen and young adult, I just didn’t see myself in that job. 

So, what did you do after high school?

My older brother had been a medic in the army, and then became an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) at a private ambulance company. I got my training and worked a couple years for a private ambulance company.

When did you change your mind about becoming a firefighter?

I was about 21. My father was a battalion chief in the fire department at the Downtown fire station on Wells. He told me about a recruitment test for people who want to be firefighters. We talked. A switch flipped in my brain, and I never looked back. I became a firefighter. 

How much training does it take to become a full-fledged firefighter?

A four-month fire academy. It’s like a boot camp. You come out of that academy in great physical shape. Firefighting is strenuous work. You have to be in top condition.

Throughout your career, you've held almost every job in the Milwaukee City Fire Department.

That’s right: firefighter, heavy equipment operator, firetruck driver for ladder trucks, lieutenant, captain, battalion chief, deputy chief and now fire chief.

As a firefighter, you are the worker bee. You’re pushed into the toughest and most dangerous spot to get the job done. I worked for some very good lieutenants and captains who saved lives by their ability to read wildly changing circumstances. You’re in a hot, dangerous fire situation, and your leader suddenly says, “We’re going back to the stairs because I think this fire is about to blow on us.” You can only know what to do through experience.

Are there a few experiences you've had fighting fires that stand out?

I was fairly new on the job. It was the first time I was ever at a fire where someone was trapped. It happened at a bungalow on the south side. We took a hose to the side door. My job was to feed the hose. A couple firefighters were bringing out an unconscious man from the fire. It was a narrow hallway, and the man was passed on to me, and I carried him out to the driveway. A paramedic did CPR and mouth breathing on the guy. I helped with that procedure. In that moment, it got very real to me, not like in the movies. We were there to save a life, to get the heart beating, the guy breathing. But I think he ended up dying. I’ve had many life-or-death incidents since then, some people rescued, some not. 

Those life-or-death situations must be high stress and take a toll on you.

Definitely. Any time kids die, it’s tough because those kids have nothing to do with the cause of the fires. In many cases, an adult or arsonist setting a fire can be used as a weapon, revenge, a violent act, and kids can be victims. Let’s say you are responding to a fire, sirens blaring and the air horns going, and a dispatcher comes on the radio. You can tell by their voice if they are taking a lot of phone calls for one single fire. As a firefighter, you know this will be a big fire. The dispatcher says, “I’m on the phone with a mom, and her kids are trapped in the house.” This can actually change the chemistry of the firefighters on the truck. Adrenaline kicks in. You get hyper-focused and run through an inventory of responses before you even arrive at the fire. Ultimately, you try to hold the fire at bay so you can rescue the kids. All too often, it’s too late.

Is there a really big fire that you fought in your career? One that sticks in your memory?

The big five-alarm fires at the buildings on 32nd and Hampton. Numerous fires there. The suspicion was arson, that the property owner wanted the buildings to go away so the property could be used for other purposes. Almost all those buildings were eventually destroyed. The buildings had been used for manufacturing and factory processes. Horrible fires because the buildings were constructed of heavy timber. Another huge fire happened when I was a captain. It was the lumber yard fire on Green Bay and Congress. Huge fire. You could see the smoke for a mile. Lumber is kiln dried, and it burns really fast. We fought that fire for 13 hours.

Let’s say you're a firefighter in a burning house or building. How do you know when to get out?

We do a lot of training of our line officers, lieutenants and captains. We give them a lot of trust and decision-making power. Those guys will crawl right into the hazard with their firefighters. They decide if and when to get out. That takes a lot of experience to decide when to retreat. Once you are in the smoke, you can’t see anything, even when using a flashlight. You have to know when the pressure changes and the sound changes. It’s a physics experiment where you don’t have all the information. You have to quickly decide how to get out and not panic.  

Those kinds of quick decisions must be stressful, not to mention frustrating.

Yes. One of the most frustrating parts of the firefighting profession is nothing happens as quickly as you think it should. No matter how fast you move, no matter how hard you’ve trained, it never happens fast enough. As a firefighter, you are doing one assigned task. But as an officer, it’s about tactics and strategy … “can we, should we…?” It’s about taking care of your team.

When a call comes in to report a fire or an accident, what is the process for those firefighters on duty?

A citizen inside, or near to, a house or building has to notice a fire or hear a smoke alarm. That person has to place the call. Our dispatcher takes the call and punches in the address of the fire, which triggers an alert to the rigs that are nearest to the building or structure fire. We send the four closest fire engines, two closest ladder trucks, the closest heavy rescue company, a paramedic unit and three chief officers. If you are driving in traffic or walking a street and you see smoke coming out of a house or building, call the fire department.

What do you like about the job of fire chief? You've been doing this job for two and a half years.

I like being definitive. I like to base decisions on all kinds of information. I like taking care of the men and women in my command. I like breathing good health, spirit and morale back into this fire department. I work with remarkably fit people who exhibit care at the darkest of times. I also like getting the community to connect with the fire department. I keep saying, “We have to get the doors up,” meaning when residents drive or walk by a fire station, they know they can trust and rely on firefighters. Symbols like a red truck, a uniform, or a collar brass are hard-earned by firefighters. For residents, it’s a matter of getting out and knowing your neighbors and also the public agency people that serve you. Example: This has happened at every fire station. Doors are open, no dispatch calls at present for fires. A little kid pulls up, crying, and his bike has a flat tire. The firefighters pitch in and fix the kid’s bike, maybe give him a candy bar and a soda.

How many fire stations are there in the city?

Twenty-nine, but we can interact with other fire departments in the county. 

Are there certain areas of the city where the most fires and medical emergencies occur?

We have a firefighting heat map that shows where all incidents have occurred. It’s similar to the heat index of the police department. The heat map shows a big cluster of fires on the North Side, and a smaller cluster on the near South Side. Milwaukee is a segregated city, and it’s easy to get jaded in the fire service. 

And it’s easy to get jaded in the media who cover those certain areas.

I get that. Let’s say it’s four in the morning, and it’s raining, and you’re a firefighter or a paramedic. You answer a 911 call, and you find a drunk passed out in a city alley. I tell my guys that you are seconds and inches away from that drunk being you. Depends where you are born, family dynamics, or where you grew up. I say, “Do what you can to fix the guy. Do something decent.” In the past few years, there have been more fires, shootings, stabbings, drug problems, car accidents and crimes than ever before. And we are often the last resort for people to call. 

You are also in charge of the city ambulance or Rescue Squad service, right? 

Yes, and they are all part of the fire department. We have advanced life support, the paramedics. We handle the more critical illnesses or injuries. The Milwaukee Fire Department covers two-thirds of public safety—fire and emergency medical services. Law enforcement covers the other third. 

Deaths from drug overdose have been too frequent in the Milwaukee area and nationwide. Why is the MFD involved in the drug addiction problem?

The fire department is involved because we have always responded to people who overdose on drugs. But drug overdosing has been increasing in severity. As for me personally, I had been the past chair of the board of directors for the American Lung Association in Wisconsin. I’ve always supported that organization. There are a number of local nonprofits active in the problem of drug addiction and overdosing. I’ve been blessed to work with these excellent folks. The overdose and addiction problem is severe right now, I can tell you that. We do what we can to help.