Loveland Fire Rescue Authority strategically plans and executes a controlled structure burn in Loveland, CO. The house was donated to the department and was used as a fire training facility for two weeks prior to the burn down.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION:
We’re going to start the fire. We have two, pallet crates inside. It’s in the center of the building. Some of you already went in there and helped us open up so that we get access to try to burn this thing down, the way that we want it to. Ideally how this we want this to happen is the fire in the center of the building burns out kind of the structural components, and we’re going to get it to collapse in on itself and lay into the foundation and let it go.
We want to try to keep this south wall intact as long as possible, just because of the radiant heat and where all of our apparatus are. Obviously we still have the chimney standing, so that’s going to be a hazard for us, so make sure we’re staying out of the collapse zone with the chimney.
Engine 43 is going to be on the green line. Your responsibility is going to be the Alpha and the Bravo side for any extension. For the most part, we’re just going to let it go. But if we have to start doing some cooling, either because of radiant heat or how we’re trying to get it to collapse, we’ll let you know when to flow your line.
Engine 46, you’re going to be on the yellow line. Your responsibility is going to be the Charlie Delta side of the building. Same thing, let it go for the most part, but if we get anything specifically outside of the structure, we obviously don’t want anything to get into the grass or anything else.
We have two brush units here. 476, Gladich, you’re going to be the one I’ll be communicating on the radio. You’re going to be south of the fire and off, over to the west, basically off this county road, he’s going to have some air monitoring equipment, kind of patrolling the area.
466, Climber, you’ll be on the radio. You already got some direction from Chad as far as how to access the fields. We have pretty much full access to all the fields around us. Um, additionally, I have the gate code to the, uh, access road that goes in between the lakes. We have permission from the gentlemen who farms these fields down here.
Where you see the sign that has the stop sign on it. There’s a gate there that we can access and drive into his field. Should we need that, but the brush patrols are really just Ember patrol, making sure that we don’t have any, fallout or any secondary fires from the calm of smoke.