During the morning hours of May 14 a dark cloud of smoke billowed from a house in Maple Valley. Rather than an ominous sign it was the culmination of months of planning by the city and Maple Valley Fire and Life Safety.

The city donated the house to the fire department that has been used  for a number of training scenarios before burning it completely on May 14.

After the city made the structure safe by removing all known hazards, fire crews performed SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) emergency operations and search drills.

Firefighters obscured their masks and simulated a number of air pack failures while conducting search operations.

“The biggest benefit was that none of the firefighters had been in this structure before” Terry Brown said, training chief .

After the SCBA training came live fire and ventilation training. The roof deck was left on to protect the structure and allow firefighters the opportunity practice vertical ventilation techniques.

Ventilation is used to remove hot smoke and toxic gasses from a structure and can be accomplished in a variety of ways.

“Vertical ventilation is a technique we don’t get to practice often and appreciate any opportunity” Brown said.

After several days of non-destructive training the fires were lit.

Live fire training allows crews to perform in environments that cannot be easily simulated. Safety is the primary consideration in any high risk training exercise.

This structure was burned over four days to allow more than 50 firefighters to “feel the heat” and conditions associated with an actual structure fire.

They were able to conduct about 24 live fire evolutions and trained not only professional firefighters but resident volunteer firefighters and two crews from the Kent Fire Authority.

They were also assisted by the Zone 3 Explorer firefighters who monitored the complete burn as well as setting up rehab for the crews.

“This was a very rewarding partnership for both the city and the fire department,” Brown said.

If you are interested in donating a structure, or joining the volunteer or explorer ranks, call 425-432-0200.