MILWAUKEE – Sitting in the shadow of the historic Basillica of St. Josaphat, Milwaukee Fire Station 31 has sat mostly dormant for the past seven years after budget cuts forced it’s closure in 2018.
Wednesday morning, the red brick building on 8th and Hayes in the Lincoln Village neighborhood reopened its doors. The street corner was humming, both from the sound of fire engines and from the excitement of dozens of gathered Milwaukee firefighters eager to celebrate the station’s rebirth.
“No longer will the residents of this important neighborhood need to wait for a fire company coming from Kinnickinnic and Otjen, or from Euclid and Chase, or from 9th and Greenfield,” said Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, who was joined Wednesday by his father, former MFD deputy chief Neil Lipski. The elder Lipski helped lead the renovations of Station 31 in 2002.
“This unit will help address growing demand from the increasing call volume from this area, ensuring that our response times for this neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods remains swift,” added Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. The Mayor’s 2025 city budget included an $825,000 increase in fire department spending over the 2024 budget.
“How often in any kind of government, especially local government, do we get to celebrate increasing services to our constituents?” asked 14th District Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic. “This city has seen a divestment in public health from private industries and corporations like health insurance. What we to say to that divestment, is we’re making an INvestment.”
The building was first opened for service in 1912, operating consistently other than for a one-year gap in 1950 when it moved to the current location of Station 11 in Bay View before moving back. Despite the building’s closure in 2018, the Community Paramedicine Mobile Integrated Health Unit and the Milwaukee Overdose Response Initiative served the entire City of Milwaukee from its location during the seven year gap until its reopening.
The overarching theme Wednesday was gratefulness that MFD will once again have a presence in the neighborhood, a sentiment felt uniquely on Station 31’s block of South 8th Street. A half-block down the road last April, Milwaukee firefighter Ryan McMenamin was injured battling a blaze that ultimately led to a resident’s death. At the time, Chief Lipski commented that had Station 31 been the unit responding, instead of Station 11 at Kinnickinnic and Otjen in the Bay View neighborhood, that life could have likely been saved.
“It does hold a special place in my heart to have this place reopen, and to have some great people provide a valuable service for those in the area,” McMenamin told WTMJ Wednesday, adding the city faces a unique challenge balancing preserving the historic nature of many old homes while also negating the fire risks they present. According to Milwaukee property data, the average age of the homes on Station 31’s block is 118 years old, with 15 buildings constructed prior to 1900.
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Ultimately, Lipski noted that while the deadly fire on 8th was tragic, it set in motion logisitical discussions that led to Station 31’s reopening. He also expressed confidence in Captain Todd Christensen, a life-long resident of the 53215 area code, in his ability to lead operations at the facility.
“I played basketball at St. Josaphat’s, I was baptized at St. Augustine’s, and my first fish fry was right across the street,” quipped Cpt. Christensen. “This is a true neighborhood firehouse.”
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