5-alarm fire at Bank One Plaza (Milwaukee)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ^ | December 16, 2003

[Peace4EarthNow]

Firefighters and ambulances responded to a five-alarm fire that appeared to trap some people in the 22-story Bank One building in downtown Milwaukee shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The fire was initially reported on the 14th floor of the building, at 111 E. Wisconsin Ave. Some witnesses reported smoke pouring from some of the broken out windows soon after the fire was reported.

By about 2:30 p.m., firefighters could be seen on the roof of the building, and bringing hoses inside from the ground level, but no smoke was showing.

[Peace4EarthNow]

Have heard that at least 1 person has been transported.

Someone broke out a large window on the 19th floor, possibly for ventilation. A man wearing a red t-shirt was hanging out the window with a towel over his mouth. It isn't confirmed, but it is believed that he was rescued.

(I'm not in the area...just watching this live on TV)

[Daus]

I am just west of the building. Not much to see, but a whole lot of equipment has responded to the scene.

Bank One is rehabbing the building to consolidate all their people downtown.

[kayak]

ping

[templar]

. A man wearing a red t-shirt was hanging out the window with a towel over his mouth.

Doesn't anyone who works or otherwise stays in a highrise ever bother to keep some rapelling gear handy? Even an old parachute would give you a chance at escape by the BASE jumping routine.

[July 4th]

Shades of you know what...

[Lockbar]

Hope they do better than the six folks that were trapped in the stairway during another office building fire here in Chicago a couple of months ago. That ended up being a real mess.

[dep]

Even an old parachute would give you a chance at escape by the BASE jumping routine.

i don't guess i'd be much interested in base jumping from the 19th floor.

[kayak]

Are you saying that there would only be construction workers in the building? Not to discount the significance of the fire or the threat to those workers but a fire in a fully-occupied building would be much worse with greater potential for injuries and worse.

[Lockbar]

"Even an old parachute would give you a chance at escape by the BASE jumping routine."

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US! (sorry, couldn't help it)

[MindBender26]

Easy. Rig it static line, with break-away cord instead of pilot chute. Work every time. (Gawd I hope!)

[Frank_Discussion]

But it does point to a potential cause. A work mishap, perhaps?

[kinghorse]

Al Polka strikes!

Did Dial get purchased yesterday by a German outfit, Henckel?

Showers will never be the same.

[Indy Pendance]

Bank One

[dep]

Easy. Rig it static line, with break-away cord instead of pilot chute. Work every time. (Gawd I hope!)

problem is, we're talking jumping from less than 200 feet. the canopy and shrouds will eat up more than 30 feet of that. the static line will eat up some more. and parachutes do not open instantly. meanwhile, the person involved is accelerating at 32 feet per second, meaning that the whole thing has to open and decelerate him in between three and four seconds. not likely.

[Catspaw]

Fire breaks out in upper floor at
Bank One building downtown

Journal Sentinel staff

Posted: Dec. 16, 2003

Firefighters and ambulances responded to a five-alarm fire that appeared to trap some people in the 22-story Bank One building in downtown Milwaukee shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday.

There was no immediate word on injuries.

Bank One fire

Photo/TMJ4

A worker on an upper floor of the Bank One building in downtown Milwaukee breaks out a window to get air.

The fire was initially reported on the 14th floor of the building, at 111 E. Wisconsin Ave. Some witnesses reported smoke pouring from some of the broken out windows soon after the fire was reported.

By about 2:30 p.m., firefighters could be seen on the roof of the building, and bringing hoses inside from the ground level, but no smoke was showing.

David Johnson, 29, a secretary at a law firm in the building, said he was at his desk on the 16th floor just after 1 p.m. when the alarms "just started blaring."

"Everyone got out of there, and pretty fast, too," he said.

They walked down the stairwell, which was filling with smoke, said Johnson.

No one panicked, he said. "They were pretty orderly," he said.

Roughly 40 of his co-workers gathered across the street at Erbert & Gerbert's Sub Shop, 612 N. Water. All were present and accounted for. But Johnson said he did see firefighters carrying stretchers into the building.

"It was pretty scary," said Johnson.

This story will be updated as news reports are obtained

[Poohbah]

Use a spreader gun. That will open the parachute almost instantly.

[Trust but Verify]

600 workers in the building on a normal workday, split evenly between Bank One and other offices. Bank One is consolidating workforce into the building, hence the construction. Fire is thought to have started in elevator shaft. Only 3 injuries, none life-threatening.

I think the 5 alarms were to assist more in evac than in firefighting.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Wilmaukee Webcam:

[Daus]

Are you saying that there would only be construction workers in the building?

My understanding is that the building is half full with the other half being rehabbed. Word is, it's actually a dumpster fire near a freight elevator on a floor being worked on.

[MindBender26]

So you break a leg. Better than crispy critters.

PS, Rangers at Grenada went out at 250 AGL, 130 KIAS!!! Ohhhh.