Mobile Home Donation Is Remodeled For Public Ed Classroom, Displays
The latest acquisition in the longstanding, year-round fire prevention education program of the Franklin, Wis., Fire Department is a mobile home.
The 52-foot-long home was donated to the fire department by a product liability law firm after its use as evidence ended with the settlement of a court case.
Chief Elmer Schreiber held a meeting with the various fire department committee chairmen (prevention, education, public relations, EMS, communications, etc.) to discuss possible uses for the mobile home. It was decided to use it as a mobile public education unit to promote fire safety, as a first aid vehicle at large public gatherings (church festivals, etc.), for taking blood pressures, and to conduct Fire Prevention Week lectures and general public education classes by taking the unit to apartment complexes, old age homes, schools, manufacturing plants, etc.
Remodeling done
Some interior remodeling was necessary to make more efficient use of the floor space, while other areas were left basically intact. The kitchen at the front of the home was left intact. The cabinets are used to store handout materials and leaflets. It is raised above the living room area, so speakers have a built-in platform.
The living room area was expanded by removing walls of the first bedroom. This increases the classroom area to accommodate a reasonable number of people.
The next room, a bathroom, was left intact. It is used as a projection room accommodating both a slide projector and a 16mm movie projector. We presently use a standard floor tripod movie screen in the kitchen, but we plan to purchase a ceiling-mount screen when funds become available.
The rear bedroom is used as a “first aid treatment room.” It has a portable oxygen unit, bandages and other first aid supplies, and a cot for the patient.
The heating plant is an oil furnace. No decision has been made to use the mobile home during cold weather by using some type of oil tank or converting to a different heating system. However, as there is a great variety of handout materials and training aids stored in the mobile home, it might be used to haul these educational materials to an apartment building, industrial plant, or other site for use in a program.
Proposed other uses
Other possible uses under discussion for the mobile home include utilizing it as a disaster unit in the event of a catastrophic accident or as a communications center in the event that our base radio is knocked out of service. These plans can be implemented as funds permit and commitments are made to proceed with these plans.
Among the Franklin Fire Department’s presentations to school children are Fireman Dan, a Jerry Mahoney-type doll purchased at J. C. Penney, and Sparky the Fire Dog.
As none of the department members is a ventriloquist, a cut was made in the front of the Fireman Dan doll, some of the stuffing was removed, and a 3-inch speaker was inserted with a cord and plug sticking out the back. A dress uniform was also made for Fireman Dan.
We then use a long speaker extension cord and connect the dummy to an amplifier and microphone operated by another fire fighter in an adjoining room. He can hear the kids and answer their questions through Fireman Dan. The person in the room with Fireman Dan has an idea as to the response to a question and pulls the string in the dummy’s back to open its mouth.
