Fire heavily damages family-owned welding shop on National Avenue
A welding shop was heavily damaged in a massive blaze Friday afternoon in Milwaukee, leaving two beloved dogs missing and a family business in ashes.
Crews responded about 1:30 p.m. Friday to Aguilar’s Welding, 1334 W. National Ave. Gustavo Aguilar, the owner of the two-year-old business, returned to his shop about 6 p.m. to watch as firefighters sprayed the building with water.
“Obviously I have a lot of feelings ... nostalgia because I bought the building,” Aguilar said in Spanish. “It’s a family company.”
Alongside Aguilar at the scene was his brother, Jonathan, who helps out at the shop. He said he and the workers saw smoke and fire and reacted quickly, using their fire extinguishers and water in efforts to suffocate the flames.
Before firefighters arrived, the Aguilars and other employees moved a welding machine and a gas tank away from the fire to avoid feeding it any further.
Footage from TV helicopter cameras showed at least four trucks spraying water onto the building as black smoke billowed from the property more than an hour after it began.
Aaron Lipski, deputy chief of the Milwaukee Fire Department, tweeted that the extreme heat and hazardous building contents were slowing firefighters’ progress.
Temperatures Friday afternoon in Milwaukee were in the mid-90s, with heat indexes around 105 degrees.
“The biggest issue is right now the heat,” Fire Chief Mark Rohlfing said. “That’s why it’s a third-alarm fire and we’ve been bringing companies in the whole time.”
Rohlfing said firefighters were rotating every 10 to 20 minutes to make sure they didn’t become overheated. A business owner down the street offered his air-conditioned building to the department to use as a cooling center for the crews, Rohlfing said.
“We’re hydrating and making sure that all the firefighters get adequate rest,” he said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, Rohlfing said.
The fire was contained to the welding shop, he said.
Two German shepherd dogs, Moose and Rubia, who were in the shop are missing.
“They’re just your best friends,” Jonathan Aguilar said. “When you were just stressed you would just go by them . ... Once you would see them, you could only just grab them and just play around with them.”
While the employees stood in the sweltering heat on National Avenue, longtime customer Stefani Davis arrived.
Davis praised the work done at Aguilar’s, saying they do a wonderful job.
“I feel bad for all of them. These are my amigos, they’re hard workers,” Davis said.
“Wherever they go, we’re going with them.”
Despite the devastation, Jonathan Aguilar has a positive outlook. Gustavo Aguilar said they’re planning to rebuild by next year.
“We’re going to work again,” Jonathan said. “You fell one time, you’re going to get up twice.”