A Pleasure to Burn: Gilmer Fire Department Holds Live Fire Training

Black smoke billowed in cobras high above treetops, while below, flames engulfed the charred bones of an old house, spitting fire from the violent inferno. And through the wind, you could hear the crackling of wood crumbling and the hissing of steam, dragon-like, from the bowels of the blaze at the house at First and Sycamore Street.In a scene reminiscent of Ray Bradbury’ s novel, Fahrenheit 451, the Gilmer County Fire Department held its live fire training Wednesday afternoon. According to Captain Brian Scudder, the training started at 12:30 or so and was expected to end around 4 o’clock. The City of East Ellijay helped the Gilmer County Fire Department with the training by providing the house to be burned.

The training is part of state requirement for fire fighters. According to Captain Scudder, each county is required to acquire 240 hours of training. Wednesday’s training, Scudder said, will satisfy six hours of training. In addition to satisfying the state requirement, the training also earns the department Insurance Services Office (ISO) credits. The ISO is the same organization that gives a rating to each county, based on number of fire stations, fire fighters and locations. Currently, Gilmer County has a rating of 7, which lowers home owners insurance. However, since the recent closing of four stations due to budget cuts, the ISO is likely to increase the county’s rating to 10 upon next inspection, which would raise the insurance costs.

“You have several training scenarios going on here,”

Scudder explained. He said that the newer fire fighters are learning how to operate and set-up the pump apparatus, while other fire fighters are training on how to enter a burning structure. Arson units also receive credit for the training, which inspect the structure both before and after the fire. Knowledge of where and how the training fire in started is withheld from the arson unit, so it can try to find where it started and cause of the fire. Citizens donate their houses specifically for live fire training, the captain explained. Advantages to such donations are twofold. First, it allows the fire department to engage and satisfy its required training. Second, it eliminates what Scudder referred to as “eyesore,” meaning old and decrepit houses. After the training is done and the houses are burned to the foundation, the owner of the land and house is able to rebuild a new structure on that spot without paying demotion costs. During Wednesday’s training, a fire engine parked along First Street in front of the burning house. The tower of the truck was raised, extended high above the flaming house. Water showered down from the top of the tower. The captain explained that the water spraying down from the tower was not then intended to help extinguish the fire consuming the house, but to dampen the treetops to prevent the fire from spreading. However, the tower is at times used to help to extinguish the central fire.

Scudder said that, on average, the department receives 15 or more fire calls in a six month period. He explained that the frequency of fires is greater in the winter than in the summer.

“Especially with the economy the way it is,”

he said, saying that people have gone from central heating/air to kerosene heaters and wood. Scudder added that fires also start due to bad wiring, meaning that house wiring is not up to code.

In Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist Montag, a fireman of the future, burns houses where literature is found, thinking them, “a pleasure to burn.” Unlike in Bradbury’s story, though, the Gilmer County Fire Department starts fires to better defeat them, burning houses to prevent the burning of houses and to save lives. Wednesday’s training is proof of the dedication and professionalism of the county’s fire fighters.