MILWAUKEE — Firefighting is a career that is driven by service and if you pair that with service to our country, it appears to be a seamless fit. 

One Milwaukee fire department is the combination of just that.

A new and improved department, the 128th Refueling Wing fire station is completely renovated and has been in operation since August of 2020.

Inside are larger sleeping rooms, a bigger kitchen, and a larger-than-life garage to store the many vehicles required to do their job.

“We have ARF vehicles, airport rescue firefighting vehicles, we have a tanker which is one of the largest in the county so it holds about 4,000 gallons of water,” SSG Jordan Kuebnik says.

For chief Ronald Simon, who is an active military member himself, having an upgraded department to fit their firefighting needs is huge.

“It helps out a lot for morale, training purposes, and expediting any calls of service all being dispatched from the same location,” SMSgt Simon says.

The 128th Refueling Wing fire department first responders are a combination of state firefighters and military firefighters, but many like SSG Kuebnik are both.

“I don’t know if there is another job that is comparable in any other way. You get down to business and it gets serious but it’s also a lot of fun; you are with a lot of guys that you trust. The whole brotherhood thing is true because you are with them at least one-third of your life,” SSG Kuebnik says.

Alex Abranmski works alongside SSG Kuebnik and he is an Air Force veteran who now serves as a firefighter, continuing his passion for service.

“It’s been a really easy transition to be able to stay here. I feel like I am still able to serve the military in some ways because I'm here, protecting your aircraft and our mission here. So I am still getting that purpose,” Abranmski says.

The crew is responsible for saving lives on the airfield both for the refueling wing and for the Milwaukee airport when additional help is needed.

It’s a career filled with passion for these first responders and veterans. A job that goes hand in hand with where their roots first began.