July 07--A fire that knocked out power Saturday to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's communications center caused more than a half-million dollars worth of damage, and 911 calls still were being transferred to Waukesha County dispatchers Sunday morning because of it.
Investigators have determined it was an accidental electrical fire, Milwaukee Deputy Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said Sunday.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office was still operating under its emergency plan Sunday with dispatchers fielding 911 calls from the Waukesha County communications center, Capt. Scott Stiff said.
It wasn't immediately clear how long the county's emergency calls would have to be dispatched out of the Waukesha County Sheriff's communication's center.
The fire began at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in a large basement utility room with numerous electrical systems inside, Lipski said.
"That is a horribly dangerous situation because that's big electricity coming in there. We can't use water, and in large buildings we don't know if there are other sources of electrical activity," he said.
The electrical system failed and caused power to fail for a large area of downtown, including the responding fire station, which had a generator to power its garage doors so crews could respond within several minutes, he said.
We Energies arrived to help. The courthouse has backup generators, but those, too, had to be shut down while firefighters worked.
"(The generators) will kill us just the same as regular power," Lipski said.
The bunker-like nature of the room where the fire started helped prevent the flames from spreading quickly, but it also meant firefighters had poor access to the room and ventilation. Crews used dry chemicals and carbon dioxide extinguishers and had the flames under control by 2:12 p.m.
The cost of the damage to the building was estimated at $368,000, and the property damage inside was estimated at $150,000.
The jail portion of the courthouse complex was secure the entire time, Lipski said. Crews worked with the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, Milwaukee Police Department and We Energies to make sure no one was inside near the fire and other smoke-filled rooms.
"What is different about that building, even though it was on a Saturday, is the potential for a prisoner to be in that building who cannot self-evacuate. It raises the concern level quite a bit," Lipski said.
The last firefighters left the courthouse shortly after 4 p.m. Lipski said he didn't not recall the last time such a large fire occurred at the courthouse.
"Everybody over there did a fantastic job. It was a sticky situation and we had outstanding help from the Sheriff's Office, MPD and We Energies, and we're happy nobody was injured," Lipski said.
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