MONROEVILLE — The Huron River Joint Fire District has a new training tool, thanks to Monroeville High School industrial technology students.
“The Huron River Joint fire department approached us to make these doll houses that they (use to) practice learning how the smoke patterns go through them,” teacher Greg Boltz said.
The doll houses are about four feet tall, three feet wide and two feet deep.
“They have all these different openings that they let smoke go through,” Boltz said, referring to windows and openings that can be opened or closed. “They learn how the smoke goes through the house.”
Firefighters provided the school with the materials. Carter Lumber and Modern Builders Supply Inc. donated the wood.
It took six students about two weeks to make the houses. Those students are: sophomore Clay Krueger, junior Layne Zehnder and seniors Gavin Boyd, Austin Gast, Tristen Green and Monty Walls.
Huron River firefighters earlier used similar doll houses during a Huron County training session. Firefighter Craig Miller said while the department doesn’t handle a lot of house or structure fires typically, the doll houses provide a great way for the crew to learn about ventilation and flow patterns, which is extremely important in minimizing the damage by fire and smoke.
Bobby Holm, who also serves on the department, agreed. He said the training is “good for us” and helps firefighters understand how flames and smoke respond in various situations.
The project partially was the brain child of Krueger, the son of Dave and Erica.
“My dad is a firefighter and a couple of the guys in the department (who) are pretty close to me … thought it would be nice to have this type of training,” the sophomore said. “It’s a pretty popular training exercise I think.”
Krueger is a cadet with Huron River presently, but is considering training to be a firefighter in the future. He said making the doll houses is important because it’s a way back to the community and provides hands-on experience in his industrial technology class.
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