Portable house to help in teaching fire safety

Elizabeth Dutton

Monday, Oct. 20, 1997 | 11:13 a.m.

To educate Clark County children about fire safety, the Junior League of Las Vegas is raising money for a portable fire safety training house.

Built by the Scotty Co. in Iowa, the house is a scaled down version of a normal home. A smoke machine fills the house with a non-toxic haze that helps fire officials teach children how to evacuate a smoke-filled building.

"It gives the kids real-life, safe situation experience," said Louise Helton of the Junior League.

Because most children panic and hide in fire situations, the house will be extremely useful in helping kids stay calm and crawl to safety in an emergency.

"This is a resource we could use every day of the year," said Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach. "Any time you can teach anybody by putting them in a realistic situation, you reinforce all the lessons they've learned before. That's how we train our firefighters."

Firefighters will take the house to schools, churches, and community groups. Helton hopes schoolchildren will take their education home and share it with family members.

The house costs about $25,000. The Junior League has already obtained a $12,000 grant from Allstate Insurance and is in the process of working with local companies to raise the remainder.

"This would be a wonderful thing to give to our community," Helton said. "We're going to work to make it a reality this year."

Contributions may be sent to The Junior League of Las Vegas, 461 S. Decatur Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89107. Donors may also call 732-3257.