KENOSHA — A regular home just wasn't interesting enough for one Kenosha woman. So instead of the white picket fence or home in a cul-de-sac, she bought a firehouse built in 1915, fixed it up, and has been happily living in it ever since.
Rhonda Dutton wanted to find a unique home, just like her sister Terry Evans. But we will get to that later. So when Terry told Rhonda about a firehouse for sale in Kenosha, Rhonda knew she had to check it out.
"We went upstairs, and I made an offer, and before we came downstairs there was a deal," Dutton said.
She bought the home for about $110,000 back in 2008. There have only been three owners of the building including Rhonda. Before she purchased it, another individual owned it and used it as storage for his motorcycles. Before him, the firehouse belonged to the fire department. The building was built in 1915 and was fully operational by 1917. The Kenosha Fire Department used it until 1964 when they sold it for $1.
"I needed a unique project. I really needed something to delve into, and I knew I could do it," Dutton said.
The building was bare, dark, cold, and damp. Dutton had to put in new heating, electrical wiring, plumbing, and more. She did a lot of the work herself. Dutton was a carpenter for almost 30 years. For the tasks she couldn't do, she enlisted the help of her friends that were also in the trades like plumbers, electricians, and more. That brought the cost of renovations down significantly.
The home is stunning. It took about two years to renovate, but the hard work was worth it. The bottom floor where the firetruck would be is used for parking a car, motorcycle storage, and a play space for their two dogs. Upstairs are the living room, kitchen, and bedroom. There is really only one bedroom and about two bathrooms. Of course, they had to keep the iconic firefighter's pole that they still ride down. Plus, there is a hose drying rack with a hose still on it. The rack was used to dry the hose after use back in the early 20th century. That technique isn't used anymore.
Dutton didn't just do it with the help of friends and by herself. Shortly after she bought the firehouse, she met Kenny Rottmann.
"One of my Kenosha buddies said she was using me to get a firehouse done, but that wasn’t the case because we got married in here in 2015, and we're living in the firehouse and we're happily married," Rottmann joked.
Funny enough, when Rottman was younger, he actually was a firefighter. In fact, his dad was the fire chief of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, and her dad was the police chief of Winthrop Harbor too. The two never met until later in life, though.
They had a lot of similarities like collecting motorcycles. So it wasn't too crazy of an idea for Rottmann to get behind. He helped his soon-to-be wife renovate the firehouse.
"Rhonda always had the vision. She always had the vision of this place," Rottmann said. "I also want to mention that Rhonda was the skilled carpenter. I was just the laborer."
Unique homes just run in Rhonda's family. Her sister has an even more interesting home, and it's only a few minutes away. Terry Evans, her sister, lives in a large storage facility that she got temporarily rezoned to be residential. It is filled with art, wagons, old electronics, and tons of records.
Terry and her husband Hardy are proud owners of the Wayzless. It looks like an old Romani wagon that the two traveled the country in.
Terry and Rhonda just like to be different. But hey who likes boring anyways?
