The building demolition was scheduled for 8:00am and it started promptly. Since the inside was so nasty, they decided to not set up several scenarios inside for people to practice on but to work a bunch of their equipment on the outside of the building. There were fourteen new volunteers who had never manned a hose or run a saw so they got some valuable experience. The trainees came from as far as thirty miles away so this was a valuable training experience for several departments, not just our own.
I was there with a camera:
There was none of the distress of a real house fire -- this was on purpose and nobody was in danger, the firemen knew exactly what they were walking into. And the title of this post comes from a line in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.
They not only brought a bunch of fire engines and tankers,
they also had an aid car standing by.
A look at a pumpers control panel.
Running the hoses out.
Training a couple new people on the saw.
This is an abrasive cutoff wheel that can go through anything, concrete, metal, wood...
A thorough briefing - very safety concious...
They stacked some pallets in the basement to serve as kindling.
The fire was lit with a highway flare.
A final walk-though to check the building -- again, very safety conscious.
The first wisp of smoke -- things happened very quickly after that.
Needless to say, there was a lot of interest from the locals.
Breakthrough - the first fire outside the building wall.
Learning how to run a hose -- there is a lot of water pressure there and it takes a good measure of control.
The various teams rotated around several exercises.
Everybody was having a great time.
This is no longer a house...
A couple people stayed to monitor the fire and to make sure
it didn't flare up. This was shot later this afternoon.
The place is now a smoking hole in the ground...
