As a "gift" from Boulder County Parks and Open Space, Boulder Rural Fire Department acquired a house on Open Space for the purpose of conducting hands on trainings for our responders. Captain Robert O'Donnell was instrumental in the acqisition and preperation of the house for BRFD to use for ventalation trainings and on May 29, 2009, a controlled burn of the house. Preparing a house to burn requires the implementation of NFPA 1403: Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions. The primarmary focus is safety for any training, and burning a structure involves a multitude of safety measures. The following photos show a rare opportunity to practice the art of reading smoke and observe fire behavior in a residential structure.
Setting up the water supply, draft, and hose lines required per NFPA 1403
Filling the 2000 gallon ponds with the Tender (2341).
Spencer on the back up engine.
Testing the fire streams for the proper compressed air foam (CAFS) mixture before ignitions.
Ignition team checking interior condition. Looks like they were effective.
Fire coming out for oxygen and pressurized smoke pushing out the roof eaves.
A super rich mixture of unburned smoke in the fire.
The final phase of the burn before the last walls came down and extinquishment.
The Brain Trust, aka Command. Managing the stratagies, tactics and personnel for a safe and effective training.