MILWAUKEE --
A Milwaukee Fire Department captain who entered a burning basement to save five people is being rewarded with a once-in-a-lifetime trip in the sky.
Capt. Brian McNulty said the fire didn't seem out of the ordinary when the call came in back in December 2010.
McNulty and his crew from Ladder 12 responded to a home fire near 10th and Mitchell streets. While home fires are never routine, he said there was a sense "things weren't going well."
The thick smoke and unusual layout of the basement led to five of his crew members becoming trapped inside. So McNulty entered the home to get them.
"You don't leave your guys behind. You always wait until they're out and then you go in," he said.
Despite intense heat, McNulty located the firefighters and directed them out. McNulty made sure he was the last one to leave."
"(That was) some of the hottest heat I've felt in 12 years in the department," McNulty said.
McNulty received second and third-degree burns to his face and wrists. But eight months after the call, McNulty is back on the job.
And while McNulty downplays his heroics as just a part of the job, other firefighters have no problem calling him a hero.
"Firefighters only have so much time inside these buildings," said Battalion Chief Aaron Lipski. "They were out of time, and that's a fact."
In an effort to reward him for his heroism, McNulty will take the ride of a lifetime on Thursday. He will ride with the Air Force Thunderbirds in an F-16 jet.
The Thunderbirds are in town for an air show this weekend, and McNulty said that while he's used to running into burning buildings, he's not so sure how he'll handle the ride in an F-16.
"The guys have pointed out and showed me video of people passing out and losing their lunch," McNulty said. "But I guess things happen. I'll deal with it."
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