Sometimes all it takes to make something happen is to be in the right place at the right time. A project for the North Royalton Fire Department, one that has been a long time coming, got a boost when some other North Royalton residents and fire department employees, came together.
The North Royalton Fire Department has had a fire simulator, which is basically a house that has flames in the windows. It is used as a teaching tool for children and fire safety. “I had it on my radar for quite a few years,” said North Royalton Fire Chief, Bob Chegan. “We built one fifteen, maybe twenty years ago. It was made out of wood and piping to hold it up. Over time, it took a beating and we don’t really have much time to do a lot of projects like that any more, so it was difficult for us to replace it.” Chegan said that a few years ago, the North Royalton Fire Department began utilizing a house that the Broadview Heights Fire Department, had built on a trailer for easier access. “An opportunity turned up in late August, when the North Royalton Browns Backers began having discussions on some smaller fund raising events that the group does. It turned into an opportunity to get this thing built. In a very short amount of time, we got a lot of people on board with the project and will get it done in two months,” said Chegan.
“A lot of good people put in a lot of time on this project.”
Tim Rudnick is the head of the North Royalton Browns Backers. The group meets at Niko’s Bar and Gyros and has 135 members. In addition to enjoying football and the Cleveland Browns, the group also has a philanthropic side. This year decided to contribute to the Firefighter Cancer Support Network. We have several members who are firefighters. One member, who is a North Royalton Firefighter, brought the project to the group’s attention. We were just talking and the simulator came up. They explained what it was and we had some money, so they decided to help,” said Rudnick. “Last year, we raised just over $4,700 for Wounded Warriors,” said Rudnick. This year, we wanted to keep it more local. We wanted our member base to actually see what we’re doing, so we decided to contribute to the fire simulator. We will also be awarding three scholarships to NRHS seniors. It adds a little to the fun.”
“The Browns Backers donated the trailer for us,” said Chegan. “We got wood from Lowe’s Home Improvement, Niko is donating material and Brookpark Design Builders are donating the metal roof for the house. We have our local doing the work. They have one shift that has the skill set, but they didn’t have much time. They’ve worked long hours to get this done in a short amount of time,” he said. “Since it has wheels, it will be a lot easier to set up.”
A 12 x 7 trailer and we built basically a small house with four windows with flames. Kids can shoot the hose that then puts out the flames. It’s always a hit at the yearly Home Days. “We didn’t want to use a lot of city funds. This is always something we prided ourselves in. Over $5,000 of materials have gone into the project,” said Chegan.
Presently, the house is sided and windows are in. The roof still needs to be erected and the simulated flames mechanism needs to be put into place. The plan is to have a public showing at Niko’s as soon as it’s completed. The event will be during a Sunday Brown’s game in November. Check the NRFD’s Facebook page for the actual date.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer