Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
WATERLOO, Iowa — Waterloo firefighters responded to a call for help at a West Third Street house on Thursday.
But the call wasn’t to extinguish flames.
Instead about a dozen off-duty firefighters chipped in to help build a home for a Burmese family.
The house, located at 839 W. Third St., is under construction by the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity, and during the winter months it can be difficult to find enough volunteers to wield hammers and cordless drills, said Battalion Chief Mike Moore with Waterloo Fire Rescue.
“We were contacted and asked if we were interested, and I put out an email to the whole department and had a really good response, and once the union guys found out about, they were on board,” Moore said.
The West Third Street house has special significance because it will go to a family of refugees from Myanmar, also known as Burma, who suffered a tragedy last year. One of the children, 18-year-old Moe Sed, disappeared in October and was found dead in the Cedar River in December.
“It’s kind of a special thing,” said Duane Rosonke, Habitat’s construction supervisor.
The family of seven is currently renting a place a few blocks away and had became involved with the Habitat project before the disappearance. They are tentatively slated to move in in late February, Rosonke said.
The two-story home will have four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms when finished. As part of the program, families put about 300 hours of sweat equity into the construction.
“They come in and help with whatever is on the agenda for the day. It can be hanging drywall, finishing work, siding,” Rosonke said
Even though this was the first time the firefighters helped on a Habitat project, the job went smoothly. Many of the firefighters have construction experience, and the concept of working as a team came natural.
“Firefighters are pretty versatile. They come from a lot of different backgrounds ... but because of the way we work doing the job that we do, we come here and we can meld together pretty good. No matter if you know what you’re doing or not, the teamwork things come right together like it does at a fire or working around the firehouse,” Moore said.
Thursday’s tasks included placing drywall and insulation. Moore said the firefighters will likely be back to lend additional help in the coming weeks.
In addition to the firefighters, volunteers at the West Third Street house have included crews from John Deere, church groups and a collection of retired regulars, Rosonke said.
Habitat has been in the Waterloo area for 25 years and typically builds six to eight a year.
Anyone interested in volunteering is asked to call Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity at 235-9946.
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