Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Scattered thunderstorms in the evening, then mainly cloudy overnight with thunderstorms likely. Low near 65F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.

The Northwest Carroll County Fire Training Center has been under construction since late 2019 next to the former City of Savanna landfill on Wacker Road. The 1,600 square foot structure is designed to replicate a two-story residential home. It is being built and funded by fire departments from Savanna, Mount Carroll and Thomson.

The Northwest Carroll County Fire Training Center has been under construction since late 2019 next to the former City of Savanna landfill on Wacker Road. The 1,600 square foot structure is designed to replicate a two-story residential home. It is being built and funded by fire departments from Savanna, Mount Carroll and Thomson.

A golf tournament in mid-October will allow area fire departments to raise funds to help expand the county's new fire training center in Savanna.

"Covid slowed us down as soon as we got started with this project, but a lot of hard work over the past year has resulted in a facility we are all very proud of," Savanna Fire Chief Scott Wolfe said about the training facility in an email interview with the Carroll County Mirror-Democrat and Savanna Times-Journal.

Construction of the Northwest Carroll County Fire Training Center began in late 2019, which is being built and funded by the Savanna, Mount Carroll and Thomson fire departments. The 1,600 square-foot structure is located next to the old city landfill on Wacker Road on the eastern edge of Savanna, and is designed to replicate a two-story residential home.

The first official training session in this facility occurred in July and firefighters will be attending a September training drill at the facility later this month.

Currently, the center consists of four 40-foot and two 20-foot shipping containers, which have been assembled and modified to create a kitchen, bathroom, and five additional rooms that can be set up to resemble any room found in a typical home, including a 16-foot-by-20-foot attached garage. The containers purchased were originally set up and used as a training facility owned by a Chadwick firefighter whose private business offered classes for the region.

"We purchased the containers and reconfigured them into a layout that will allow for future growth as additional shipping containers are purchased," Wolfe explained.

A little more than $20,000 has been invested in the training center to date, with the majority of that being used in the initial purchase of the shipping containers, purchase of an additional 40-foot container, concrete work to create the footings for the structure, and building supplies to create rooms on the inside. Wolfe said the fire departments have several plans on how to further expand the building and training opportunities.

Wolfe said some of these future plans consist of finishing a roof that was built on top of the 40' section, build and shingle a roof over the "attached garage", install ventilation props on the new roof, paint the structure, install additional windows, and add additional shipping containers as funds allow. The completion of roof sections, addition of more doors and windows and painting the facility have been identified as next on the group's "to-do list."

Wolfe estimated the cost for completing both roof structures at $5,000. The cost of prepping and painting the center is expected to be $1,000. Wolfe added that additional shipping containers are currently selling for between $2,500 and $3,500.

"Work will also continue on the inside to create various props and layouts used to provide great hands-on training," Wolfe said.

Proceeds from the Mount Carroll Fire Department’s 28th Annual Les Myers two-person, 18-hole golf tournament will go toward funding these plans.

The event will be held Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Lake Carroll Golf Course, with registration at 9 a.m. The cost to enter is $120 per team. The top three teams will receive monetary awards (based on total entries). The event includes a 50/50 raffle, hole prizes and a $10,000 Hole-in-One prize sponsored by J.C. Carey Motors in Savanna.

Those interested in participating can register for the tournament by calling Lake Carroll Golf at 815-493-2808. People wanting to help with a hole sponsorship or prize contribution can call Wolfe at 815-541-5142 or Joe Grim at 815-244-0137.

Wolfe encourages people to participate in the golf tournament and help support the continued improvements to the NW Carroll County Fire Training Center. He explained that typically, the only time fire departments get to perform training with a residential structure, is when one is typically slated to be torn down.

"These houses are few and far between and are normally in poor condition which limits the amount, and type, of training we can perform," said Wolfe. "This training center will allow us to participate in all types of training in a clean and controlled environment."

Recently purchased smoke machines are used to create zero visibility conditions as needed. This facility is available for use by any fire, EMS, and law enforcement agencies in the area.

Wolfe said the fire departments would like to thank the following business which have donated time, equipment, and/or money to get them to where they are today:

Zickau Construction; Seeser Crane; Ritchie Excavating; Miller Excavating; S&P Construction; Brad Gallentine; JC Carey Motors; J&S Body Shop; Quality Concrete; Mills' Machine; Rock River Cartage; Midwest Motors.