City Times Staff

Another sizeable donation has been made toward the purchase of a new fire safety trailer for use in Wood County.

The Wisconsin Rapids Fire Fighters Local 425 and Marshfield Fire Firefighters Local 1021 with the assistance of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charities have donated $1000 to the Wood County Fire Chiefs Association.

The donation goes toward funding the purchase of a new fire safety trailer for use among the various fire departments in Wood County.

The proposed trailer is projected to cost $122,000 and the WCFCA has currently raised $85,000 of the purchase price. A fundraising goal of $142,000 has been set to account for future operating expenses.

The fire safety trailer, a staple of school field trips to the firehouse and safety awareness days that teach fire prevention and emergency preparedness, is in need of replacement in Wood County as their current model has been used for nearly 20 years.

The new  state-of-the-art safety trailer will be built by New York-based BullEx, a manufacturer of fire and workplace safety training equipment.

The new trailer will have more realistic smoke and fire simulations as well as laser simulated fire extinguishers for more interactive training. The trash can or oven may start simulating flames and if you point the laser fire extinguisher at it and use it correctly, the flames will die down. A severe weather simulator is also included which teaches safety in situations from light rain to hurricane situations.

The Fire Chiefs Association expect 100,000 visitors to the trailer every year.

The new trailer is expected to be purchased at the beginning of 2016.