This is just a drill

Given what happened in town just a few weeks ago, you are probably going to question why we went ahead with this drill but this was an excellent opportunity we don't often have dropped in our laps and we decided to go forward with it for the benefit of all the local deparments.

At some point this summer one of the local farmers offered us a house that he would otherwise be tearing down and trucking away. With the stipulation that he remove the shingles and vinyl siding we agreed to burn the house for him. The location was perfect for us as it was in the middle of a corn field and would not adversly affect any neighbors.

We again had many fire departments on scene, including several members of the distant department one of our former members now belongs to. We (I use this term loosely as I don't do burning buildings but I was on scene as an EMT and watching my brother run the pumper) took the opportunity to learn Perry's aerial truck in case they cannot get a crew together. New members and any one else interested were taken into the house in groups where small fires were set and the men and women could practice putting out the fire.

After about 2.5 hours of drills we set the house on fire and just watched her burn. I am sure the people driving by wondered why 50 firemen were staring at a burning building with all their cameras out but again it was an interesting opportunity to watch how a fire burns and to see how the wind blew the fire right back into the house.

All told, the house was burned into the basement within an hour and as of yesterday, the trees have been removed and you would never know a house and yard were in that particular field.


Can you see how the wind is blowing the flames in thru the front windows and over the roof?

Thankfully no one was injured during the drill, they were all well fed again and newbies and oldies alike got to practice their skills.

I had some short videos but they don't seem to be uploading...sorry.