Vacant House Used For Fire Training

  A vacant eyesore in a west Dearborn neighborhood is actually doing the community some good. The Dearborn Fire Department is using a city-owned home on Carlysle Street near Telegraph Road to conduct training exercises.
  The training offers firefighters an opportunity 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, Mr. Spearman emphasized that none of the exercises done in houses like the one on Carlysle will threaten or endanger surrounding homes or residents.
  “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.