By Donna Wallace
Times-Picayune
COVINGTON, La. — Rookies at Fire District 12 in Covington got some hands-on experience in fighting fires this month, thanks to a Covington couple who donated their two-story, 5,400-square-foot house to the department.
Stacey and Shane Cambre bought the property on Military Road knowing that they would demolish the house, which was heavily damaged by Katrina.
Since it was going to be torn down anyway, they decided to let it go up in flames for a good cause.
Cambre got the idea about donating the house while watching an episode of “Dirty Jobs” on TV’s Discovery Channel.
The house was burned down after having served as a training ground for the rookies.
Before the house was burned on Aug. 10, training officers modified the structure, blocking the windows to create total darkness and disconnecting the utilities so that the trainees could practice search-and-rescue exercises, ventilation and forcible entry.
“It works out for everyone,” training officer Kevin Adams said.
“The owner wanted to tear the place down and build new; his neighbors wanted to get rid of it because it’s just sitting there and they’ve seen vagrants going in and out of it; and we wanted to give the rookies some real experience during training.”
The 11 new recruits started training classes on March 21.
They have spent the majority of their time in the classroom, so the hands-on training was a “tremendous opportunity” for the rookies, said Capt. Stephen Krentel of Fire District 12.
“The rookies spent an entire two weeks at the house learning how to break down doors and windows and ventilate the roof.”
They also conducted search-and-rescue exercises using a 180-pound dummy that was hidden in the house.
Rookie Mike Laine, commented on the tricky spots that make the experience all the more real for him and his classmates.
“All the windows are covered because in a real fire you can’t see anything,” he said. “The other day we did a search-and-rescue exercise where we had to crawl through the house looking for a dummy. I searched three rooms before I found it trapped in a hole in the floor.”
“I wish I’d have gotten training like this,” said Adams. “Our guys are doing good and when the times comes for them to face the real thing, they’re going to be prepared.”
The house was burned to the ground. The area around the house was bulldozed to keep the fire from spreading, and the homeowner has accepted responsibility to clear the rubble.
Krentel encourages anyone who may have a structure that needs to be demolished to consider offering it to their local fire department. They may not be able to burn it down completely, but it may help prepare the community’s firefighters to better handle the real thing.
Copyright 2007 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company