MARSHFIELD, Wis. (WSAU) — A $20,000 donation from Canadian natural gas company Enbridge Energy, is giving a big boost to fire safety in Wood County. That’s according to Marshfield Fire Chief Bob Haight.
Haight says the donation spearheads a fundraising drive to replace the county’s 20-year-old “Fire Safety Trailer” that’s fallen into a state of disrepair due to old age and overuse. “This trailer has seen an awful lot of use,” Haight said, “and actually has deteriorated to the point where it’s no longer feasible to repair or use it anymore, so we’re looking to replace that.”
An ongoing fundraising drive still needs to raise another $70,000 for purchase of the new safety trailer, which will feature state-of-the-art simulators and interactive electronics. That trailer will visit schools, businesses and civic events around Wood County, teaching fire prevention and survival.
“Some of the things that we can teach in this trailer are what to do in case of a fire, what to do when the smoke detector goes off , how to handle fires within a kitchen, how to get everybody out safe,” Haight said. “It will be used at schools, where we focus a big part of our efforts. But it will be in a lot of different events and businesses as well. We will definitely have that available to anyone within Wood County.”
Total cost of that new fire safety trailer: an estimated $142,000. Firefighters will be selling raffle tickets at events around Wood County including the Central Wisconsin State Fair in Marshfield, to help raise the remaining funds needed for the trailer project.
by Terry Pezl, WSAU
