Karen Kestel donated her Cedar Road farmhouse and surrounding 80 acres to the New Lenox Fire Protection District for live-fire training, a months-long effort that culminated in three days of sessions. The house burned to rubble Friday afternoon as crews trained.
About 100 firefighters from New Lenox, Manhattan and Frankfort rotated through three days of evolutions, with fires inside the house, burn barrels and hay bales. The Illinois Fire Service Institute oversees the training and provides the scenarios, kept secret until just before start.
Built by four generations, the house stayed in the family before the donation. Officials called the gesture rare for training.
Family members felt the ending honored history while offering valuable on-scene experience for firefighters.
For More Information: https://patch.com/illinois/newlenox/fitting-end-beloved-family-farmhouses-last-days-spent-training-firefighters-one
