Staffing issue causes Menomonee Falls fire station to close temporarily

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Menomonee Falls Fire Department confirms that it had to shut down one of its fire stations on Wednesday, November 21, because of staffing issues. 

Assistant Fire Chief James Mollet sent the following statement: 

"Wednesday, November 21, 2018 presented some challenges in staffing for our Department, but these challenges are common in a business that is largely reactionary to the public's calls for service. Sick calls, vacation time due to the holiday and a need to ensure proper rest for personnel that had worked 24 hour shifts the day before, led to the temporary closing of one of the Departments five stations. All other stations were fully staffed. The Department experienced a 90 minute period during which there was relatively high-call volume as well. To say that "there was no fire engine, or ambulance available" is inaccurate. Like in any high-call volume period, the Brookfield Fire Department assisted by responding to two emergency medical calls while MFFD personnel were on other calls. Our FD has a strong working relationship with surrounding departments, and mutual aid such as this is common.

The Department recognizes the hard work, time and effort put in daily by firefighters, EMTs and paramedics, especially during the holidays. The public can be assured that there are procedures in place to provide emergency services even during challenging times as described in the Facebook post.”