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Trial by Fire for Seattle’s Newest Firefighters: Recruit Class #109

The Seattle Fire Department will train new firefighter recruits at a vacant home in the Madison Valley neighborhood. Training officers and fire recruits will practice firefighting skills at 2711 E Roy St for four days (10/29-11/2/18). Live fire training is an opportunity for the recruits to face real fire scenarios in a controlled setting as it solidifies their 15 weeks of training. This essential experience prepares the newest members of the Department for the risks and challenges of fighting a home fire. This benefits the Seattle community by further developing the recruits’ fundamental life and property protection skills.

We conduct this type of training twice a year in the city and make every effort to minimize the impact on the neighborhood. In order for us to safely conduct our training and keep your property safe, 27th Ave E and 28th Ave E between E Mercer St and E Valley St will be for local traffic only. Furthermore, we will use the 2700 block of E Roy St to park our apparatus.  We recognize that this training exercise may present some inconveniences to your regular daily schedules and we thank you for your patience and understanding.  Our firefighters are among the best in the nation because of the training we are able to provide and because of the support we receive from our community members.

On each day, we plan to have four fires spread throughout the day lasting 15-20 minutes.  Residents will see smoke as controlled burns are set at the vacant structure. All carpet, plastics and toxic synthetic materials have been removed along with required asbestos abatement. The training officers will set wood fires in a controlled fashion with safety officers on hand during the exercises. This training is conducted under the strict regulations and rules of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The smoke coming from the building during the live fire is the equivalent to smoke from a fireplace.  After the fires are out, most of what you see coming from the structure is steam.  On Thursday, November 1st, weather permitting, we will burn the building down to replicate a defensive operation.

Neighbors are welcome to come and watch the live training. Typical training days begin around 7 a.m. with the live fire training starting at 9 a.m. and lasting until approximately 5 p.m.