Hello everybody. The MFD will host a 150th anniversary event at HENRY MAIER FESTIVAL GROUNDS. Should be a fun and interesting event.
The Milwaukee Fire Department turns 150 years old on Jan. 1. Its history spans from the days of “bucket brigades” to modern innovations in firefighting equipment and life-saving techniques.
The department’s roots date before 1875 to Milwaukee’s earliest days as a village in the 1830s. Local firefighter historians shared their insights on some of the most consequential moments over that time.
Milwaukee’s first organized firefighting crew was a volunteer effort that began in 1837, with equipment and firehouses funded by donors or the volunteers themselves, according to a historic preservation report.
“Grateful storekeepers and hotel managers would frequently feed the volunteers during bouts of fire fighting. Members were also expected to help quiet civil disturbances when called upon,” the report said.
Those first volunteers used an old wagon with buckets and ladders on it, said Jim Ley, a retired deputy fire chief who is curator of the Milwaukee Fire Department’s museum and historical society.
By 1861, a more formalized department was created where firefighters would hold regular daytime jobs but remain on standby for emergencies. That came around the same time as the onset of steam engines, which required trained staff to operate, Ley said.
Then, on Jan. 1, 1875, a full-time, paid fire department was created. The tools firefighters used over the years have evolved “leaps and bounds” since then, Rode said: from horses pulling steam engines to the first motorized vehicles in the 1910s. Today’s fire engines carry 500 gallons of water on the truck and can pump 1,500 gallons per minute.
Click HERE for an extensive historical photo gallery
#1 by Joe Smith on September 30, 2025 - 8:26 PM
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Milwaukee’s ongoing budget problems are primarily a result of state shared revenue that has not kept pace with inflation over the past 35 years or so, combined with a state expenditure restraint program that limited increases in the property tax rate. The state legislature provided some relief a couple years ago by allowing the city to implement a local sales tax but imposed restrictions on how the revenue could be spent. This was far from a perfect solution, but did provide the funds to reopen 2 engine companies that had been shut down and to add 2 paramedic units, and will hopefully lead to the restoration of additional companies in the future.
#2 by Bill Post on September 30, 2025 - 2:02 PM
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It’s a shame to see how many fire companies that the Milwaukee Fire Department had ended taking out of service over the last 10 to15 years. Half of their Truck companies were taken our of service . It wasn’t that long ago that they had 16 Trucks in service and now they are down to 8. I know that a number of Engines were also taken our of service in addition to some fire stations as well.
To attempt to make up for the loss of fire companies I understand that they are now on an automatic mutual aide system with neighboring fire departments so that the nearest companies will be dispatched regardless of the town the companies are located.
I know that type of system in used in the Phoenix Az metro area and has been working very well. Still losing 8 Truck companies is alot Truck companies to lose. They also lost half a dozen Engine companies and it was originally 8 but 2 were put back in service. Apparently Milwaukee lost much of it’s tax base or was it mismanagement on the part of the City?