Municipal Workers....

....Blip Centrals' latest challenge--to photograph municipal workers across the world. I've taken a little different angle on the challenge by photographing this bronze statue of a Firefighter and his Dog.
 The History Behind the statue:
    Friday, October 28, 1892 in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward (State of Wisconsin, USA). Residents were busy closing up their shops at the end of the day when a fire broke out at the Union Oil Company. By odd coincidence, three other fires had been raging in other parts of the city so there were no fire engines immediately available the fight this fire, causing a delay before help arrived. This in turn allowed a series of explosions to go off in the burning building & caused the fire to spread to other buildings. After hours of fighting the fires, just as the firemen thought the flames were under control, a strong 50 mph wind blew through the streets & suddenly the flames were jumping to other buildings and spreading quickly! In the end, the "Great Third Ward Fire" caused an estimated 4 million dollars in damage, including 215 railroad cars full of products, 440 buildings,  left 1,900 people homeless, and there were 4 lives lost, 2 of which were firefighters. A year after the massive fire, the Milwaukee Fire Department Engine Company #10 was built in the third ward where they served for many years. In 1990 this bronze statue was commissioned to be placed outside the building that housed the fire station, and in 1991 the firehouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bronze sculpture is a tribute not only to the 2 firefighters who lost their lives in the Great Fire of 1892, but also to ALL firefighters who risk their lives everyday.    :)