Debra and Larry Stout's decision to donate a mobile home to Warsaw Fire Department will allow new firefighters to learn search-and-rescue techniques.
The Stouts, Warsaw, recently donated a 1979 mobile home to WFD. It has been located in Hideaway Hills and is now at the department's new fire training facility.
The Stouts paid to have Nelson Brothers, Warsaw, transport the trailer to the fire training facility at the new Wastewater Treatment site last Thursday. It is located at 2056 N. CR 150W, Warsaw.
The Stouts are planning to move out of state and are in the process of selling mobile homes they own. They currently own five trailers.
"Firemen do more than people realize, and if donating this trailer for training can save one life, than it is more than we could ever do by donating it," Debra said.
Debra donated the trailer in memory of her deceased husband, James Stackhouse, who died in 2004.
The couple purchased the trailer together seven years ago and rented it out for additional income.
A renter whose home burnt down previously lived in the mobile home. Four other families lived in the trailer over the past seven years.
WFD Chief Mike Rice said Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins and Wastewater Utility Manager Brian Davison were instrumental in approving the facility.
"In mobile homes, seconds count, and the trailer will assist firefighters in becoming more proficient in search and rescue," Rice said.
Rice said the department previously accepted mobile home donations, but they were in poor condition and were not able to be preserved.The two-bedroom trailer has a bathroom, dining room, kitchen and living room. It will be furnished with dishes, clothing, beds, chairs, tables and dressers.
A smoke machine also will filter smoke into the trailer for search-and-rescue training.
Firefighters will begin using the trailer beginning in November, according to WFD division training officer Rob Barker.
"The mobile home will allow us to show new firefighters how mobile homes are constructed and put them in a realistic environment they may not have been put in before," Barker said.
