Are you considering demolition of an existing building?

The Wauconda Fire Department is always looking for buildings to use in practicing fire fighting skills such as searching for trapped victims, forcing open of doors and windows, cutting of roofs and walls to attack fire, burning of small fires inside rooms to simulate a real fire and burning the building completely.  All of these things can be done using an existing building that is scheduled for demolition.  The use of donated buildings allows the Wauconda Fire Department to conduct the best possible training for its firefighters and insure better service to the community.

 Did you know that allowing the Wauconda Fire Department to use your building for firefighting practice may be tax deductible as a Non-Cash Charitable Contribution? Generally, all or a portion of the value of the building (not land) is deductible.  Consult your accountant or tax adviser for complete details on how this may be done using IRS Form 8283 Noncash Charitable Contributions.

 Not all buildings are able to be used for training as they may be in very poor shape and may not withstand the additional activity.  The safety of our firefighters and surrounding neighbors will be considered prior to any commitment to use a building.   However, if a building is deemed to be too close to other buildings for live fire training the Wauconda Fire Department may still be able to benefit from it.  Many of the critical training evolutions we do can be done without the use of live fire or without burning the building down.  If you are unsure just ask for a building evaluation and we will let you know what we can do.

 If a building is able to be burned there are several steps necessary to make this happen:

1.                  The building will have to be inspected by a certified asbestos contractor who will determine that no asbestos exists or remove whatever asbestos is present.  The asbestos contractor will provide the building owner with a Notification of Demolition and Renovation Form that certifies that all asbestos has been removed.

2.              Bring the Notification of Demolition and Renovation Form to the Wauconda Fire Department with a check for $150.00 made out to the Illinois EPA. 

3.              We will make application for a burn permit as well as notify the Illinois Historical Society.  The application process can take up to ninety (90) days so we ask that you plan accordingly.

4.              Once the permits are received we will notify the building owner and schedule the training.  The longer we can have a building the more time we can spend training on it.  We understand that the neighbors will not want to look at a house that is broken and run-down for long so we make every effort to keep the building looking good while we are training on it.

 If you think that this type of donation would be mutually beneficial or you have additional questions please contact our Director of Training, Al Schlick at 847-526-2821 or email ASchlick@Waucondafire.org