Three houses caught fire on Milwaukee's south side Sunday morning. One person died and a firefighter was severely burned. According to Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski, the fire department dispatch got a call at 4:49 a.m. saying an "entire house was on fire" near 8th and Hayes streets. The fire spread to two neighboring homes -- one to the north and one to the south. There were credible reports that people were trapped inside, Lipski said. Lipski said one person inside one of the homes died. That person's identity has not yet been released. While trying to rescue the victim, who was in the attic of the house to the south (2471 S. 8th St.), the attic floor "became 100% involved" in flames, trapping a firefighter, Lipski said. The firefighter was rescued and taken to Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital. "We credit Ryan's training with saving his life here today. We credit the training and the drive and the dedication, the aggression, the smart firefighting of his counterparts, his pier firefighters, in saving his life here today," Lipski said. "This was a very marginal fire. I am telling you. We were probably 30 seconds away from talking about planning a firefighter funeral today."dLipski originally said 49% of his body had partial thickness burns. Later Sunday, he said the firefighter had been upgraded. "His burned surface area has been reduced to 23%, however, some of his burn area is in fact third-degree, or full thickness," Lipski tweeted. "He has a long road of recovery," Lipski said. The firefighter had been with the department for three years, Lipski said. Coincidentally, the technique the injured firefighter used to escape the flames, was all thanks to a special training his own former firefighter father had pushed to implement at the Milwaukee Fire Department years ago. "Rapid intervention training is training we received at the Illinois Fire Service Institute," Lipski said. "We continue to send members down to this training. Of note, one of the members who spearheaded this department getting this training is our burn victim's father. His father is a proud retired member of our fire department.""What do you think a situation like this says about your line of work, and what people are putting their lives on the line for when it comes to the community?" asked WISN 12 News' Mallory Anderson. "Listen, I'll tell you what. When every other system fails, when every other promise rings hollow, the Milwaukee Fire Department comes and they lay it on the line for you and they do it as quickly as we're afforded the possibility of doing it," Lipski said. "Our firefighters are here for the city of Milwaukee. I don't think I need to convince anybody of that. But I am passionate about that, and this just typifies that."The style of the house was a "Polish flat," which had a very narrow and steep staircase to the attic floor, which made it even more difficult for firefighters. The stairwell was also cluttered. Lipski said the fire response took five minutes due to Station 31 being shuttered in 2018. That station is just down the block from the scene. He said that is an example of why adding money to Fire and EMS programs is important. That station will now eventually reopen due to the shared revenue sales tax going into effect in January. "It is precisely what we have been talking about. This is geometry and physics. No amount of buzzwords or fuzzy talk erases that reality," Lipski said. "It almost killed one of my firefighters today, and a civilian has been lost. We finally have a system in place. We finally have a belief in place among the policymakers that a proper city has a proper fire department. We're reopening fire stations, for the first time in my career."Lipski said at the same time as the south-side fire, there was also a fire on North 41st Street, where another firefighter was injured. That firefighter has minor burns and has been released from the hospital.WATCH: Chief Lipski's Sunday morning news conference: