Waukesha Fire Safety House; officials hope to replace it

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Generations of kids in Waukesha have learned about fire safety by climbing inside the Fire Safety House.

When the Waukesha Fire Department’s Fire Safety House rolls up to a school, it delivers a lesson many kids never forget.

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There’s just one problem. The portable trailer is burnt out.

Fire marshal Brian Charlesworth said Waukesha was given the trailer back in 1996. Costs to replace it today could top $200,000.

"If you do have a fire in your home and the smoke alarms do sound, we want the kids to have an exit plan," Charlesworth said. "It’s coming toward the end of its life – we hope to replace it in the next two or three years."

There’s hope a new donor will step in. 

Inspector Don Dishno said the program works.

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Last November, FOX6 spoke to a 15-year-old girl who saved her siblings when their house caught fire.

"She noticed the fire and when she did, she explained to us she took when she learned here at the Fire Safety House," Dishno said.

On average, firefighters say they respond to three house fires a month in Waukesha. The latest was Sunday. 

It happened just down the street from Trinity Lutheran School where fourth grade students are learning how to stay safe.

"If the window isn’t tiny enough – you might have to go out a balcony or hang your head out a window," fourth grade student Jackson Harris said.

Firefighters take the Fire Safety House to first and fourth grade classrooms throughout the city. It simulates fire scenarios in a living room, kitchen and bedroom.

"It’s great to know that you’re making an impact like that," Dishno said.