Authored by Cheryl Riley, President, AT&T Upper Midwest States
In August of 2025, historic floods pummeled the Milwaukee region. Overnight, nearly 10 inches of rain fell across the area, submerging cars, downing power lines, and affecting many families and community members.
In any emergency, communication is critical. During an unprecedented natural disaster like the Milwaukee floods, lives are on the line. According to reporting from the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal, between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. the evening of August 9th into the morning of August 10th, 2025, the Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) responded to more than 600 calls for fires, water rescues, and other weather-related emergencies.
When AT&T spoke with Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, he said that within an hour of the rain starting, MFD depleted their physical resources. With the volume of requests incoming, one resource that didn’t fail was MFD’s communications platform, FirstNet®, Built with AT&T.
FirstNet is the only nationwide communications network built with and for public safety—with a set of specialized, innovative tools, technologies and features specifically designed for public safety based on their direct feedback and needs.
“We ran out of fire engines, ladder trucks, paramedic units, private ambulances. We ran out of everything within probably the first hour just because of the sheer quantity of requests for assistance. You might imagine at this moment in time, we would start experiencing connectivity issues because every one of these rigs has numerous devices on it that need to be attached to the network. Our system didn’t fail. Our system is FirstNet,” explained Chief Lipski.
As a fourth-generation firefighter, Lipski is no stranger to the importance of fast, reliable communication, both for keeping his firefighters and his community safe. Quite simply, he says, “As firefighters, we need air, we need water, and we need information.”
To equip his firefighters with the best possible resources, Chief Lipski and MFD switched to FirstNet in 2021. FirstNet has solved daily operational headaches for the Chief’s team. Previously, fire crews experienced a potentially dangerous connectivity lapse when leaving the station, as their onboard terminals struggled to switch from station Wi-Fi to commercial cellular networks.
“When we switched to FirstNet, our communications became seamless,” Lipski notes. Now, whether responding to a routine call or a major emergency, Chief Lipski trusts his firefighters are never cut off from the critical data they need to stay safe.
With nearly 31,500 agencies and organizations subscribed, FirstNet is the trusted communications network for public safety in every state and U.S. territory. But the existence of a network built with and for public safety is not a luxury. For Chief Lipski, the value of FirstNet is clear, and the alternative is unthinkable: “Without FirstNet, our ability to coordinate and command a response to a crisis would be at risk.”
Read more about FirstNet and the critical role it plays for first responders.
FirstNet and the FirstNet logo are registered trademarks and service marks of the First Responder Network Authority. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
Visit the NLC Strategic Partnerships page to learn more about organizations like AT&T dedicated to making NLC the premier resource for local governments.
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