October 13, 2004

Hands-on training conducted

       The smoke seen in the area of Olive Branch Road and State Road 135 the last few weeks has been from fires intentionally set by the White River Township Fire Department.  The fires are all part of several training exercises aimed at giving firefighters hands-on experience in mitigating actual fire situations.  After acquiring all of the necessary permit paperwork and assuring that the house was free from asbestos and other toxic materials, the structure was cleared for controlled burning at the end of September.

         Two houses, virtually side-by-side, were donated to the department last month to use for training purposes.  One of the homes was deemed too dangerous by the department's Training Division to do any controlled burns in, so it was relegated to only forcible-entry exercises.  The second home however was in good shape and has been used for several room-and-contents fire simulations.  The house will not be burned all the way down though because of safety hazards with the high traffic in the area.  Instead, both of the houses will be torn down next week to make way for new commercial development.
  

                   
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