This house fire may have attracted every fire department in the county, but it was all in the name of experience. All seven local fire departments participated in the rare live fire training Saturday morning, using a donated house behind Mountain Springs Church to simulate dangerous real-world firefighting conditions.
The training took place at an old house on Denver Street, behind the church. The house, owned by Mountain Springs Church, was donated to the city and officials allowed the fire department to use it for training purposes, eventually burning it down. โThese live burns are really rare because someone has to essentially donate their house to be destroyed as a training prop,โ said Andrew OโNeel, emergency manager, public information officer, and volunteer firefighter with Paradise Valley Fire District.
โExtensive preparation is done to the house to make it safe before training, and firefighters have already been training there for several weeks now in preparation for the big day.โ The house used for training was supposed to have been completely burned down; however, it was decided that it would be put off for another time. This decision worked out for the firefighters because it allowed time for everyone to participate in the training.
