VIDEO: Milwaukee firefighters battled a huge house fire Thursday morning in the frigid cold.
News Chopper 12 captured flames and thick smoke pouring out of the roof of a house near 29th and Townsend streets. Investigators said the fire started on the first floor and quickly spread to the second floor and then up to the attic.
A 73-year-old man sustained life-threatening injuries. He was taken to an area hospital and is in critical condition, police said. A 53-year-old man was also taken to a hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The frigid temperatures added a challenge for firefighters.
"Usually, a fire like that would encompass what we like to call a one alarm, but given the circumstances, amount of fire, and the cold weather, we ended up getting close to calling a second alarm full of resources here just because of that," Milwaukee Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Hartung said.