By AMBER SOUTH
@ShipNewsGirl
A used fire safety simulator will help Shippensburg Fire Department better educate the public on how to escape a burning building.
As members of Cumberland County Volunteer Firefighters Association, Shippensburg’s Vigilant Hose Company No. 1, Cumberland Valley Hose Company and West End Fire and Rescue can request use of a 1997 fire prevention/safety house CCVFA recently bought from Campbelltown Volunteer Fire Company in Lebanon County.
Cumberland County Volunteer Firefighters Association's Fire Safety House. (Courtesy)
The shared structure allows fire companies with ever dwindling budgets to offer hands-on fire safety education without spending the up to $30,000 that similar units can cost, said Shippensburg Fire Chief Randy O’Donnell.
Officially known as the “Fire Safety House,” its main purpose is to educate the public on how to escape a burning building. The unit includes a small living room, kitchen and small bedroom. Each room shows multiple fire hazards emergency responders often find inside homes.
SFD has used in the past a similar fire safety house, the “Smoke House,” borrowed from Franklin Fire Company, Chambersburg.
Third-graders in Shippensburg Area School District used the unit to practice skills they learned at their second-grade fire safety and prevention program. They acted out what to do in the event of a fire, including following an escape route.
“It puts everything in perspective,” O’Donnell said.
Future programs could use the CCVFA unit.
The Shippensburg community will likely have its first use of the structure in October at the annual Fire Safety Day. Lowe’s, which hosts the event, has already scheduled the unit for the event, O’Donnell said.
CCVFA used prize money won at holiday parades last fall and winter and donations received at various fire prevention events to buy the unit.
“It’s our hopes that through some (additional) donations from local community organizations that we will be able to fund this purchase 100 percent through donations from the community,” said President Curt Alleman, in a news release.
All CCVFA members and other community organizations can request to use the unit. To make a request, email ccvffafireprevention@gmail.com.
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Amber South can be reached at asouth@publicopinionnews.com and 262-4771.