Dearborn firefighters break open a roof to create ventilation during a training exercise on a vacant home on Carlysle Street last Wednesday.
DEARBORN – The Fire Department is conducting training exercises in a city-owned vacant home on Carlysle near Telegraph.
The training offers an opportunity for firefighters to work in near real conditions and practice firefighting techniques that help save lives and property during real fire emergencies.
“Working in an actual home presents challenges to the firefighters that are hard to simulate anywhere else, so this training is very important to the continuing education of our firefighters,” said Battalion Chief Paul Spearman.
The Fire Department regularly uses vacant homes that are scheduled for demolition in order to practice opening a roof for ventilation, running hoses up stairs and working in confined, smoke filled rooms.
Although the training is as real as possible, Spearman emphasized that none of the training done in these houses will in anyway threaten surrounding homes.
“We don’t do live burns in the city. We use fog machines to simulate smoke in the home and we make sure to secure the home and clean up when we are done with our exercises,” Spearman said