CUDAHY - The fire at the Patrick Cudahy plant was so large that a fifth alarm was called. Approximately 130 firefighters from 27 area departments helped fight the fire.
For South Milwaukee Fire Captain John Czajkowski, what started as a relaxing Sunday night off turned into the biggest fire he's fought in his 23 years on the job. But what really surprised him was what he saw when the sun came up.
“You can see more fire during the night time but you don’t realize how much smoke," he said.
It was what caused that smoke that kept Czajkowski at Patrick Cudahy for 15 hours straight, fighting not only the fire, but also heat and fatigue.
“It probably wouldn’t be all that bad if a person worked an eight hour day and went home the next day," he said.
Since that's not an option during a five alarm fire, crews relied on frequent breaks to stay alert.
“You work a couple hours and then you go into rehab for an hour, drink lots of fluids, get some food in you, rest for a while," he explained.
Also in need of rest? Lieutenant Craig Langowski of Franklin. He, too, was called to assist Cudahy fire fighters. He agrees this is the biggest fire of his 20-year career.
“I don’t expect to see one bigger than this," Langowski said. "We were engulfed in some pretty thick smoke.”
