City of Brookfield Fire Department History | Brookfield, WI

City of Brookfield Fire Department History Timeline

1946

Brookfield Volunteer Fire Department was organized with temporary offices for six months on November 7th, and Franklin Wirth was chosen as Fire Chief and James Plank as Assistant Chief.

1947

On April 10th Brookfield purchased a lot on Pleasant Street from Emmerich Schmidt for $600 for a Fire Station. They awarded the bid to Gordon Weber to build a 30' x 40' three door station for $3,247.37.

Election of permanent officers was held on May 1st
Franklin Wirth, Chief
James Plank, Assistant Chief
Rudy Doman, Secretary
Art Berris, Treasurer

On Oct. 15 approval to purchase the first new Fire Truck, a 1948 Chevrolet, equipped with pump and equipment by the Peter Pirsch Company of Kenosha for $7,500 was granted.

1948

The department filed for Articles of Incorporation.

1949

Edward P. Schweitzer joined the Department, later to become the first full-time employee of the Fire Department.

1950

A second fire truck was added to the fleet.

1954

City of Brookfield became incorporated.

1958

James Plank appointed Fire Chief and Edward Schweitzer Assistant Chief.

1962

Edward Schweitzer appointed as third Fire Chief for the City of Brookfield.

1965

City of Brookfield Fire Department is organized as a municipal Fire Department with a Chief and two full time employees, adding fourteen more before year’s end.

1966

In January, Fire Station 2 opened on Lilly Road, just south of Capitol Drive, and three additional firefighters were hired.

1967

Eleven new employees were hired.

1968

Six new employees were hired.

1970

Ten new employees were hired, went to a three platoon work cycle, and a new aerial ladder truck was put into service.

1972

Six positions were cut from the Department due to City budget problems.

1977

Opened Fire Station 3 at 1000 South Moorland Road with assistance of a Federal grant and $87,000 paid by the City.

One new firefighter was hired in November.

1981

In March Chief Edward Schweitzer retired after 32 years of service to the City of Brookfield, 19 years as Chief, 16 as the full-time Chief.

Lieutenant James H. Mehring, 38 and a 15 year member of the Department, was appointed Fire Chief on May 9.

1985

The Department becomes a part of the Emergency Medical Services delivery system. An ambulance was staffed by Station #3 personnel and they responded to 332 incidents.

1987

The department assumed entire responsibility of Emergency Medical Services for the City, formerly a Police Department function.

The Brookfield/Butler Hazardous Materials Team was established.

Land was purchased for Fire Station #4 - 4100 N. Brookfield Road.

Initiated fees for conducting State mandated fire inspections, and the City approved the Life Safety Code which covers all multi-dwelling and commercial buildings.

Added six new employees.

1988

Hired a part-time administrative assistant, who later became full-time.

1989

Hired one new firefighter.

1990

Added a full-time Training/EMS Coordinator Deputy Chief to the Department’s Command staff.

1991

Chief Hobart Boswell of the Foxborough, Massachusetts Fire Department was requested by the Fire and Police Long Range Planning Committee to do an administrative review of the Fire Department. This report was completed in September of 1991.

October 19th - Dedication of Brookfield’s new Public Safety Building.

1992

Added two Firefighter positions.

Mayor appointed EMS Committee to evaluate the needs of the City into the year 2000 including the possibility of the need for Paramedic service.

1994

EMS Committee recommends that Paramedics become a part of the City’s EMS delivery system, and the City votes to include funding in 1995 to start a Paramedic program and for it to be in place by 1996.

Dr. John Martin was retained by the City to conduct an assessment of the Fire Department’s operations and management. His report was presented to the City in September of 1994.

Added four Firefighter positions.

1995

Hired first Female Firefighter to the department.

Nine Department Firefighter/EMT’s completed 22 weeks of intensive training at the Milwaukee county Paramedic Training Center and became Wisconsin Paramedic certified in July.

Inspection Services and Fire Department consolidated.

1996

Paramedic Ambulance MED 9 started April 1, 1996.

Fire Department’s Survive Alive House is dedicated on September 30, 1996 and put into service for the 1996 fall semester.

1997

Chief Mehring retires on April 2, and Deputy Chief John Dahms was appointed to Interim Fire Chief.

1998

February 2nd - Timothy McGrath appointed to Chief of the City of Brookfield Fire Department as the third full time chief in the career history of Brookfield.

June 1 - Took Ladder out of service and reorganized staffing at each station to five.

1999

On June 15 the Paramedic Training Center was established and on July 20 the first paramedic class began with ten students.

September – New Ladder 2171 (Quint) was put into service.

October 5 – The City of Brookfield Fire Department was named the Waukesha County Government Agency of the Year. This award is given to the public agency that shows leadership through innovation and cost effective use of resources. The CBFD was presented this award for the creation of the Paramedic Training Center.

December – Partnership with Waukesha County Technical College to provide EMT-I training to local fire departments.

1990s Photograph Slideshow

Survive Alive House
Firefighters in Action
Attack Planning
1999 Ladder Truck
Department Vehicles
City of Brookfield Paramedic Training Center Logo
1999 Med Class
1999 HazMat Training

2000

In March the first paramedic class graduated and in April the second ALS unit went into service.

Haz-Mat was consolidated with the New Berlin Fire Department.

2001

Staff changes this year were: John Dahms is appointed as fourth Fire Chief, and an assistant chief position was converted into two part-time positions, public education and secretary.

Placed third paramedic ambulance in service.

Sept 11, 2001 – After the FAA grounded all flights, former President George H. W. Bush stayed at the Embassy Suites. The Secret Service limousine was housed at Fire Station #3.

2002

New Lifepak 12’s were placed into service and a new ambulance was purchased.

2003

1999 Pierce ladder was replaced with a 2003 model at a cost of $75,000.

Facilities study of Station 2 and 3 were conducted.

Thermal imaging camera and SCBA were upgraded.

2005

Transitioned to the new Waukesha County Communications Center (WCC) and implemented Firehouse Software.

2005 Pierce Quantum fire engine placed in service.

Saturday March 12th, at 12:51pm the Sheraton Hotel shooting occurred.

Two firefighters/paramedics volunteered for a month in the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

2006

New Med Tec Ambulance placed in service.

2007

After eleven years of dedicated service John Dahms retired as Fire Chief and Bill Selzer served as interim Fire Chief.

2008

On June 8th Charlie Myers is appointed as fifth Fire Chief.

On April 8th, fourteen calls for the shift including a 3 alarm fire at Guhring Inc occurred, then on June 7th through June 8 storms with flooding resulted in 176 calls for service.

New Med Tec ambulance was placed into service.

2009

After the facility studies ordered in 2004 was completed, it was determined that in order to meet the National Fire Protection Association response standards, a re-alignment of our stations was necessary in order to serve a larger percentage of our residents adequately.

Calhoun and Capitol was chosen for Station 2's new location and Calhoun and Greenfield was chosen for Station 3, then construction finally began in March.

Took delivery of two Pierce Quantum fire engines.

On February 5th an intentional fire was set at Burlington Coat Factory and went to two alarms. Then on June 18th through June 19th storms with flooding resulted in 70 calls for service.

2010

In January the Fire Station 3 was dedicated to the first volunteer Fire Chief Franklin Wirth and Fire Station 2 was dedicated to Fire Chief, Edward P. Schweitzer the first career Fire Chief.

Department received Assistance to Firefighters Grant for $89,000 to purchase new paramedic monitor/defibrillators.

New Incident Command van was placed into service.

Recipient of the Flight for Life Scene Call of the Year.

Increased the number of controlled intersections that have emergency vehicle preemption (EVP).

On July 22 the Department responded to five times our normal call volume due to heavy rains.

2012

Department staff reorganization created an Assistant Chief position and Training Lieutenant position.

Department was awarded a $156,000.00 Firefighter Assistance Grant from FEMA to replace our existing self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).

City of New Berlin and the City of Brookfield have signed an intergovernmental agreement to provide closest apparatus joint response from our fire stations that reside along Greenfield Avenue.

Waukesha County Communications (WCC) implemented a new computer aided dispatch (CAD) software package.

Fire Department implemented mobile data computers in the apparatus The City of Brookfield ISO rating improved from a 4/9 to a 3/9.

On October 21 the Azana Spa shooting took place.

2014

Horton Ambulance placed in service.

City entered into a contract with LifeQuest Services for ambulance billing. Training took place on medical data necessity to increase billing outcomes. LifeQuest has worked with Waukesha County’s Communication Center’s computer aided dispatch provider and ImageTrend Systems to develop an interface to population the electronic patient care reporting (ePCR) software.

Three new thermal imaging cameras placed in service.

On June 30 through July 1st storms resulted in 93 calls for service.

2015

New digital radios placed in service.

Rapid Deployment Craft (RDC) placed in service. Boat given to Parks Department.

Low angle rope rescue equipment and training was purchased.

The City of Brookfield ISO rating improved from a 3/9 to a 2/9.

LUCAS 2 CPR – This device was put into service. LUCAS delivers automated, uninterrupted compressions at a consistent rate and depth.

3 new firefighters, an Administrative Assistant Allie Gerschwiler and a part-time Public Education Specialist Lori Baumgart are hired.

With the collaborative agreement to use the City of Wauwatosa Fire Training Facility, more of the training was dedicated to Fire Suppression.

2016

20th Anniversary of Survive Alive House, May 13, 2016 (1996-2016)

300 Kidde CO detectors were received through a grant

500 Glow necklaces were handed out by Fire Department personnel in exchange for sparklers at Family Fest Fireworks

Cradle-Point routers/external modems placed in Fire Dept vehicles

Unit #2186 placed into service

Ballistic protection PPE is added to apparatus

Waukesha County implemented Emergency Fire Dispatching

CBFD joined the Elmbrook/Ascension Community Senior Health Team to focus on older adults in our community and fall prevention

Fire and Police departments work together to develop an active shooter/assailant policy.

2017

3 new firefighter/paramedics, a new part-time Public Education Specialist Michelle Garcia and a new Administrative Assistant Shannon Smith

The City of Brookfield Fire Department EMS has been recognized as one of the winners of the 2017 American Heart Association and Mission: Lifeline Excellence in Patient Care award. The American Heart Association and Mission: Lifeline recognizes EMS agencies for their role in elevating the performance of the systems of care in their communities.

FF/P Marcia Rosecky’s name was added to the Fire and Police Officers memorial wall in Civic Plaza during a dedication ceremony in October.

All Members completed the IAFF Hazardous Materials Operations Class

Station 1 kitchen and dorm area remodeled

Teleconferencing system added to all three stations to improve interdepartmental communications.

2019

2 new firefighter/paramedics

New Unit #2151 Horton Ambulance placed into service

New Unit # 2171 - Rosenbauer 108-ft. Aerial Quint/Ladder Truck placed into service

Implemented Firehouse Mobil Inspector - use iPads to do company inspections

First female drivers/equipment operators

First female acting Lieutenant

First female Firefighter Union Executive Board member

All members completed their 2 year EMS licensing renewal

All members received refresher training on injury prevention and body mechanics

S.A.L.A.D. airway training led by Dr. DuCanto for all members

Hose load deployment joint training with New Berlin Fire Department

Lieutenant Robert Tiarks is promoted to Deputy Chief of Training

2020

New Unit #2152 Ambulance placed into service

COVID-19 Pandemic begins in May. Public Education events like Survive Alive had to go virtual. Other events like National Night Out, Safety Town and others had to be cancelled for the safety of the Fire Department members and the public.

The part-time Public Education Specialist position changes over to a full-time Community Risk Reduction Officer. Michelle Garcia continues in this re-configured position. In addition to the regular community service and educational aspects, business inspections are also added to this new role.

Survive Alive House area gets freshened up with new paint and furnishings

3 new firefighter/paramedics hired

Lt. Nick Rogne was promoted to Lieutenant to Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention

All members received specialized EMS training to communicate more effectively with patients struggling with dementia and PTSD.

Training on alternative fueled vehicle emergencies

2021

Fire Chief Charlie Myers retires June 2 after 13 years of service to the department.

Assistant Chief David Mason is sworn in as the new Fire Chief on June 3. He is the department’s 6th Chief.

On November 7, the City of Brookfield Fire Department celebrates its 75th Anniversary.

The City of Brookfield WI Fire Department is new to Social Media and sets up a Facebook page to share fire and life safety messages

25th Anniversary of Survive Alive House, May 13, 2021 (1996-2021). Logo was updated.

COVID-19 Pandemic continues with multiple variants. Events like National Night Out, Safety Town and others had to be cancelled again.

Severe storms with high winds blow through Brookfield on August 10, 2021. There were around 170 calls for service for downed trees and many power lines. Power was out for 2-3 days for some residents.