Destroying a House by Training

This old farm house was with a group of buildings donated by a developer of the land for the purpose of training. Prior the training of the actual burning of this structure, this old house was used over several weeks in training. Training included laddering and making vent holes in the roof; search and rescue for victims; salvage and overhaul; and RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) rescue training for a "downed" firefighter in the basement. These various trainings allowed firefighters to practice pulling the plaster walls and ceilings down, as well as practice cutting ventilation holes in the roof to allow smoke and fire to clear from a burning structure. This also allowed for training for raising and lowering ladders properly and safely as a team. The RIT training allowed firefighters to rescue one of their own, in simulated fire conditions and on their breathing air, by cutting a hole in the floor, lowering a firefighter down to reach the "trapped" firefighter with a "broken" leg. Once there were no more walls, ceilings or floors to train with, the building was burned. This burn was done during the evening to train with hoses and fires in the dark.

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The fire was initiated in the basement, near the center on the floor.

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An evergreen treeline to the north needed to be protected, as did the trees surrounding the structure. Crews on the hoselines were able to save the pine tree that wastaller than the house and positioned less than ten feet from the house, pictured on the left side of the house above. The tree to the right was also saved, both trees will be able to grow once agian in the spring.

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All that remained was a few burning timbers and the metal from the house. In the center of the picture above, you can see the twisted metal I-beam that supported the house is all twisted and bent, stretching from across one side of the basement with a sag almos to the floor between two burning wooden posts. The intense heat from the fire was so hot that the steel had been weakened and its strength removed causing the beam to twist and fall.