Up in smoke

By: DONAVON CAMPBELL

A rainbow bloomed in the mist next to a column of smoke and flame rising above 2730 Crafton Park in Upper Arlington.

Fire trucks lined the street, the yard was filled with firemen, neighbors and passers by. All the while, multiple hoses were wetting down everything, except the burning house.

The Upper Arlington Fire Division — along with units from Liberty Township, Norwich Township and Grandview Heights — got together to burn a house down Thursday, Oct. 30.

UA firefighters, who had been using the home since September for a variety of training exercises, received the house as a donation from the owners, John and Emily Ness. They had plans to demolish the structure and build a new home on the plot.

According to Fire Division spokesman Dan Kochensparger, more than 30 houses have been donated in this fashion since 1988. After the building is burned down, the title of the home reverts back to the owners.

“One of the biggest things,” said Kochensparger about the benefit of training in actual homes, “is being in the actual circumstances and being in the kind of place where you’re actually going to get most of your runs.

“There is nothing that can match both the physical and emotional environment of a live fire-training scenario.”

Even so, the fire department doesn’t just show up one day and light a match, said Kochensparger.

“It takes a lot of work to get (the house) prepped,” said Kochensparger.

“There are a lot of things that have to be done before hand.”

Kochensparger said the department must adhere to National Fire Protection Association regulations and the home must go through a number of inspections for asbestos and any other hazardous materials before it can be burned.

Even then, the neighbors must agree to the scenario and no flammable liquids are allowed to be used to start the blaze.

“These are practices any prudent fire department would follow,” said Kochensparger.

Firefighters then perform a number of training runs through the home before burning down completely. They use wooden pallets and straw to set fires in different rooms to practice situations that require “reading smoke” as well as some search and rescue operations.

“I’d say it’s as close to the real thing as we can get and still train in somewhat of a controlled environment,” said Lt. Drew Durbin, an Upper Arlington firefighter with 16 years of experience.

“You’re more focused because in this type of training there is real danger.”

Kochensparger said perhaps the most important thing to come from these opportunities is the chance to work on communication in a realistic situation.

“You get into some places and if you don’t have everybody working together, you can actually make it worse,” said Kochensparger.

Mr. and Mrs. Ness, along with their four children, stood among the crowd watching the old house literally go up in smoke.

“It’s great,” said Mr. Ness. “The fire department has been fantastic to work with.

“We’re excited that they’re benefiting from the live training that they receive from this kind of activity.”

However, as the heat rose — according to Kochensparger the heat from a house fire can eclipse 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit — the windows burst and the house began to fall in on itself, Ness added that the event did not come without a twinge of remorse.

“It doesn’t feel good to destroy a house,” said Ness.

“But it does feel good to give the fire department the opportunity to do this kind of training.”

Mrs. Ness said the experience has given her somewhat of a sense of the real thing.

“I can’t imagine … how painful that would be,” she said Ness.

“It’s emotional … it gives me a good appreciation for what the fire department does.”

(this article first appeared in the Nov. 5, 2008 issue of the Upper Arlington News)