MILWAUKEE — In a one-on-one interview with Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, the chief did not hold back while reflecting on reckless driving on Milwaukee streets.
The interview happened on the morning of three fatal car accidents in the area.
"Overnight here, three fatals, two in the city. That used to be noteworthy and it's just another day around here lately. It's wildly unacceptable," said Lipski.
He says his crews are responding to "horrible, brutal, grisly" crash scenes far too often.
Just last week, the department released response metrics that show the department responded to 12 blazes and to 134 motor vehicle crashes in a one-week period. Many times, crews are forced to cut victims out of mangled vehicles with tools.
"We are doing this at a pace that far outpaces the number of times we've had to cut people out of cars, I'd say in the past two or three years, as opposed to the rest of our careers," said Lipski.
The chief spoke with TMJ4's Ryan Jenkins while in a meeting with some of the department's other leaders, who say they are feeling fatigued, both physically and mentally.
"If you've never had to sit there and listen to someone wail, someone who believes they're going to die, as you do everything in your power to correct the situation with every available tool and skill and brain power applied - and then you do that over and over and over again. We're a group of tough folks, right? We don't talk like this usually. But, it's a real thing and we're starting to see it amongst our team and that worries me," said Lipski.
The chief says he is part of task forces and initiatives aimed at calming traffic and he does believe re-designing streets will help. But, that takes time.
"As the fire chief, I'm left with the same problems that the fire department is always left with. Plans are good, talk is good, action is better, but until that action takes hold and changes an entire systemic problem, in the meanwhile, it falls on the fire department to figure out," said the chief.
And while the department continues to respond to crashes and as firefighters and paramedics work to save as many lives as they can, the chief is also calling for drivers to take personal responsibility.
"It does include the personal responsibility of drivers that have apparently just been set free on the roads with no standards and no guidance from anybody," he said. "Those objects being driven like bullets around the city will continue to impact other people, either pedestrians or other vehicles or themselves."
A passionate plea for safer driving from one of the city's top first responders who is unwilling to become numb to a deadly issue on Milwaukee roads.
