Got A Clunker You Want To Get Rid Of? Call Naperville Fire Dept.
NAPERVILLE (CBS) -- The Naperville Fire Department wants a few good clunkers which they can rip to shreds during life saving practice.
Naperville Fire Department Division Chief Mark Ziemnik said the department is not particular. Fire trainees have ripped apart everything from Jaguars, to beaters, to school buses.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's John Cody reports
Podcast
Ziemnik said the only requirement is the cars come with keys and titles: they don't even have to work. The department will arrange to pick them up.
Just don't expect to ever see your clunker -- or recognize it -- again, because when the fire trainees are done, the vehicle will be in pieces.
Ziemnik said fire trainees and on duty personnel have to practice slicing open wrecked autos without hurting passengers, who may well be trapped inside.
He said standard practice is to put a paramedic inside to calm down the victims, while hydraulic jaws are ripping open holes wide enough to extricate the victims.
Ziemnik said someone actually did donate a Jaguar to the program: a Brown 1990 Jaguar that needed so much transmission work, the owner decided donation was wiser than repair.
The chief said Naperville will reciprocate with nothing but thanks -- but he said there might be a tax break available for the car donor. Those interested in donating their beaters can call Naperville at 630-420-6142.
