Practice Fire Drill

[skent]

A dear neighbor passed away three years ago, (was in his 80's) he had been an electrician by trade but had just tinkered around his 'junk yard' the last few years of his life. He was the kind of guy that if you asked him for advice, he'd always help you out. As a very small boy I remember going past his house and seeing him working on various projects.

His children cleaned up the property (over the course of two years) and discovered the house was not worth renovating. Foundation issues and structural problems deemed it to be torn down. The new owners of the property attempted to contract to have it torn down, but would have cost 10K to 15K to raze. They contacted the local FD and asked if they wanted the house to 'Practice in' and thats what they did. Four different companies (11 trucks total) took turns setting fires (in various rooms) and putting them out. After several drills, the wood and structure got too weak to continue and the house was allowed to burn. After the brick walls colapsed, the pile smoldered for days. Later in the week, a FEL and dump truck cleared the site in two loads.

Attached are several photos of the last fire. . . .

 

[skent]

another

 

[skent]

and another

 

[jinman]

That's a good use of an old house for FD training, but it's also a little sad because of all the memories. I sold some property that had been my parents home for over 50 years, and although their old house was a shambles, it still brought a tear to my eye to see it torn down.

 

[chim]

With the brick walls and tin roof to hold the heat in, there shouldn't have been much cleanup of unburned wood...............chim

 

[riptides]

How sad. I could have used that tin roof.
The bricks may be recoverable. Some people use them to renovate and even build old style stuff. Get the word out.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[RobertN]

It is a great thing to do, letting the FD use an old house like that. This is especially true for volunteers, who may not get as much expierience as paid guys.

While I was volunteering here, we got to burn a few old houses. We loaded them with old couchs and stuff, and practiced search/rescue scenario's. Then most of that stuff was removed, and fires were started in the building, which we then practiced various ways of putting them out.

We invited volunteer engine companies from the surrounding districts to train with us, and they did/do the same when opportunity arises.

FD burn building are great, but they are the same old block building every time(for FD's that have them). These donated houses allow a greater variety of scenarios to practice in.