Before the Bradley Center was finally turned to dust, the Milwaukee Fire Department got a crack at it, using the building for a series of training exercises. It's one of several examples showcasing the close relationship between the Bucks and MFD.

"Even before the demolition started, we got in the upper rafters of the building so we could practice high-angle rescue, rappelling and rope work from extremely high points," said Aaron Lipski, assistant chief of the Milwaukee Fire Department. "It provided us an opportunity to do that training out of the weather, and that was ongoing for quite some time before demolition."

The close relationship between the two public-facing entities now extends to clothing, with the Bucks and MFD jointly unveiling a co-branded T-shirt for sale, beginning Friday.

It's available for $18 in the Bucks Pro Shop inside Fiserv Forum and at a handful of Milwaukee-area fire stations, and full proceeds benefit the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation and MFD. Specifically, MFD's fire-service career exploration organization, the Junior Fire Institute, will benefit.

Lipski said the drawn-out demolition of the Bradley Center next door to the Bucks' new home at Fiserv Forum continued to aid in training exercises after the roof implosion.

"We had our heavy urban rescue team right into the area with the demolition experts; it was extremely useful, to be able to look at a building of that stature. The access to that is pretty unique. It was very educational."

Bucks president Peter Feigin said the relationship started to blossom years earlier when the Bucks granted the MFD access to the old Kissinger's Meat and Poultry plant on the Bradley Center campus.

"We're big public-service fans to begin with, and they've been great partners," Feigin said. "We think this (T-shirt) is an opportunity to keep being engaged in public service in Milwaukee and hope this leads to other events in the future."

Last Thanksgiving, the Bucks used the Fiserv Forum kitchens to cook meals for on-duty firemen at firehouses across the city during the holiday, and the MFD also plays a role in day-to-day oversight of the Deer District area outside the arena, and it's not just cursory.

"Since long before ground was broken (at Fiserv Forum), the Milwaukee Fire Department was invited in to very real design discussions as far as how we might interact with this building, how apparatus would interact, how command structure would interact with their command structure," Lipski said. "This organization since the word go has put their money where their mouth is and put public safety and our ability to affect public safety."

Lipski said the department was invited to have a chair at the table in the arena's command center -- "like mission control at NASA," Lipski said -- at every ticketed event.

"They are funding our position to provide top-level command services at their building," he said. "That's so unique in this city. Everybody hires cops to be security, but very few people think far enough in advance to really have someone embedded there. If, God forbid, the worst thing does occur, we're already stepping off with the best and brightest working together. It's very forward thinking for this area."

The shirt won't immediately be available online, but it can be purchased at the Deer District Firehouse Station 2 (755 N. James Lovell Street) and also at fire stations Nos. 7 (3174 S. Chase Avenue), 8 (5585 N. 69th Street), 10 (5600 W. Oklahoma Avenue) and 36 (4060 N. 27th Street). It's also available at the Milwaukee Professional Firefighters Association Local 215 (5625 W. Wisconsin Avenue).

Visit bucks.com/mfd for more information.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.