MILWAUKEE — The quick action of a group of Milwaukee firefighters helped one of their own overcome an injury to get to his daughter in a Minnesota hospital.
Milwaukee firefighter Jeff Rothmeier was badly injured while responding to an emergency call last Saturday. He suffered a spinal fracture, some bruised internal organs, broken ribs and a concussion when he fell from the roof of a two-story building.
Fire Chief Aaron Lipski said it’s difficult when any member of his team is injured.
“You go into very serious mode,” Lipski said. “You try to dig it apart and figure out what happened. You try to figure out ways can we wrap our arms around the team member, and their family.”
Chief Lipski found out that Rothmeier’s 10-year-old daughter, Fiona, was scheduled to have a life-saving kidney operation two days later at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He knew he had to get Rothmeier there for it.
“I think anybody looking into his eyes, and his wife’s eyes, understood that if he had to be loaded into a wheelbarrow and pushed up there, he was going to Rochester,” Chief Lipski said.
Six other Milwaukee firefighters stepped-up to get Rothmeier to Rochester safely and comfortably. They got him in an ambulance and drove it through the night to get Rothmeier there in time for his daughter’s surgery.
One of those firefighters, Mark Germano, has been close friends with Rothmeier for a long time. They went to the fire academy together.
“Doing whatever we can for him in that moment was no less than he would have done,” Germano said. “He would have found a way to do more. He’s that kind of guy.”
Milwaukee Fire Department Lt. Anthony Rueda also made the trip to Minnesota.
“Jeffrey is an amazing person,” Lt. Rueda said. “I know he would do the same thing in a split second for any one of us. That’s just what we do. We take care of each other.”
After being in hospital beds next to each other at Mayo Clinic, Rothmeier and his daughter are now recovering together back home in Milwaukee.
“The Rothmeier’s are a very tough family,” Germano said. “They are tougher than a two-dollar steak. They are going to bounce back very quickly. I’m just happy I could help and witness it.”
The Rochester Fire Department also stepped up to help the Milwaukee firefighters and Rothmeier family through this process.