Lieutenant firefighter Caleb Lucht from of Lake Country Fire and Rescue brought his crew of five to a flaming apartment building in the city of Delafield. As far as anyone knew, the building was empty, so they pushed forward into the heat to try and knock back flames as fast as they could.
“Descriptions by dispatch as well as police departments and our first-in battalion chief said that fire was blowing out of the first floor patio,” he said.
Lucht recalled his story on WPR’s “Wisconsin Today,” as one of 99 first responders to be recognized for heroic actions. Since 2019, legislators in each of the state’s 99 assembly districts choose among nominated first responders to present with the award.
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The responders were recognized during a ceremony at the state Capitol on Oct. 14.
Lucht was nominated by Lake Country Fire and Rescue for his role in responding to the September 2024 fire, according to a release from Rep. Cindi Duchow, R-Delafield.
“I had two younger firefighters (with me),” Lucht continued. “One was in his first month on the job and the other one had 12 hours on the job as a firefighter.”
But then the team received word that the building wasn’t actually empty — a woman and her dog were stuck in a second-floor apartment.
“As a boss, I want to keep the youngest person with me for safety,” Lucht said. “So I told the others to stay with the hose and the senior firefighter, and I pulled the youngest guy with 12 hours on the job with me. We were going upstairs, right above the fire.”
There was so much smoke in the building that it was nearly impossible for them to see inside the stairwell, Lucht said. When they reached the person who was trapped inside, they prepared her to exit through the window and down the ladder.
“She really wanted her dog to go first,” Lucht said. “It was a lab. And as a pet owner myself, I get it, but that’s just not how things work. So I gave a good chuckle. The other members on scene did an excellent job setting up a ladder, so we already had one close by.”
After getting the woman and her dog to safety, Lucht realized the roof of the building was bound to come down before long. He went on the roof and created a makeshift chimney to funnel the smoke out of the building to keep it standing.
Lucht used to work as a firefighter in Milwaukee. He said that a similar situation in Milwaukee would require a team of 12 responders. But Lucht’s team of five kept everyone away from harm, themselves included, and saved the building, too.
“It’s a testament to their work,” Lucht said about his crew.
Lucht said his team helps keep him grounded during tough emergency calls. “The people back at the firehouse, the mentorship, the ability to kind of cope together, is huge,” he said.
Preserving life and safety
Another First Responder of the Year, officer Julie Powell, also told her story on “Wisconsin Today.”
In Antigo, three hours north of Delafield, Powell was getting ready for her night shift as a police officer. But about an hour before heading in, she was notified about a domestic violence situation that called for her particular expertise in negotiation tactics.
A woman called 911 after escaping a house where her young children were being threatened and held hostage by a man they were living with. Powell was assigned to be the primary negotiator — the only person to communicate with the man holding the children.
“When officers made the initial approach to make contact with him, he quickly said, ‘Leave me alone. I have high-powered rifles,’” Powell said. “So officers pulled back and called us for help. It was a high stress situation, but it’s what we trained for.”
Powell said she spoke with the hostage holder for hours, reminding herself the whole time that the goal was to keep the children safe.
“We worked through the situation at hand, and established a rapport with him by just talking about his childhood, what led us to this day and how we were going to work through it,” Powell said.
Eventually the officers were able to rescue the children without anybody getting hurt.
Powell has a daily reminder of this particular case. “The children drew pictures and thank you letters, and I still have them hanging, laminated on my locker,” she said. “Every day that I gear up and grab my equipment, I see that. It’s why we continue to answer the call.”
Powell said that while hostage situations are rare, she uses her negotiation skills every day in the field.
“I use my empathy and my active listening skills with suicidal individuals, as well as anybody who I have to take into custody,” Powell said. “Arresting them peacefully is important so you’re not fighting and no one’s getting hurt.”
