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DECATUR — It's not every day that South Wheatland Fire Department gets handed a home in good repair to use in training.

South Macon firefighter Gavin Brand practices clearing out a window during a recent training exercise.

But a house on Dipper Lane, bequeathed to Macon County Conservation District, continues to serve the department for several training sessions prior to its planned demolition.

South Wheatland firefighter Michael Warnick tears down a curtain to get it out of the way during training for practicing forced entry.

“The lady that lived in this house recently passed away,” said Chief Tom Williams. “The conservation district contacted us, reached out to us, to see if we'd like to use the house to train. And of course, when we get houses like this, that are very well maintained, we always jump on that opportunity to train with it.”

Blue Mound Fire Department lieutenant Brian Vanscyoc practices clearing out a window during training.

Williams also contacted the South Macon, Mount Zion and Blue Mound departments to offer them the chance to attend the training sessions as well, because those departments are the ones who assist South Wheatland in real fires, and South Wheatland does the same for them.

Blue Mound Fire Department lieutenant Brian Vanscyoc practices clearing out a window.

The conservation district has no use for the house, but wanted the land to add to their preservation area, so the firefighters have been practicing forced entries, cutting holes in the roof, knocking out windows, filling the house with smoke to practice rescue techniques and doing everything short of setting it on fire, because that requires several weeks and permits.

“We've done roof ventilation work. We smoked the house up with a smoke machine that we've got. We've vented the roof. We've done some hose evolutions, where we pull hose into the house and practice charging our hose lines with water and advancing fire hose inside the house,” Williams said.

Blue Mound firefighter Brandon Teitsort practices clearing out a window during a training exercise at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

In general, the first time a fire crew sees a house is when they're called to an emergency.

“Very often, the houses we get (for training) are unsafe,” Williams said. “So we're very happy when we get a house that's as stable as this one is.”

South Macon firefighter Ryan Flemming practices clearing out a window during a training exercise at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

When they don't have a house to use, Williams said, they run through scenarios or they go to the training tower at the Public Safety Foundation Training Site. But having a house is an opportunity they couldn't pass up.

Firefighter Phillip Outzen, one of the South Wheatland crew, said experience teaches them how to guess the layout of a house from the outside. On this house, for example, the picture window clearly indicated the living room. Two small windows were bedrooms. The bathroom and kitchen, by process of elimination, had to be at the back of the house. Those are things the firefighters have to be able to figure out at a glance so they can go to work and rescue anyone who might be trapped.

Firefighters from South Wheatland, South Macon, Mount Zion and Blue Mound fire departments suit up for training at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

A real house to practice on makes a lot of difference to firefighters who are all volunteers, Outzen said. They were wearing all their gear and have been able to get used to wearing their self-contained breathing apparatus, and working in the close quarters a real house offers, low visibility, and working together with volunteers from the other departments as well.

“We have an opportunity to practice, doing things that we would do on a real fire scene, that we don't get to practice much,” Outzen said.

South Macon firefighter Gavin Brand practices clearing out a window during a recent training exercise.

South Wheatland firefighter Michael Warnick tears down a curtain to get it out of the way during training for practicing forced entry.

Blue Mound Fire Department lieutenant Brian Vanscyoc practices clearing out a window during training.

Blue Mound Fire Department lieutenant Brian Vanscyoc practices clearing out a window.

Blue Mound firefighter Brandon Teitsort practices clearing out a window during a training exercise at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

South Macon firefighter Ryan Flemming practices clearing out a window during a training exercise at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

Firefighters from South Wheatland, South Macon, Mount Zion and Blue Mound fire departments suit up for training at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

South Wheatland Fire Department, with South Macon, Mount Zion and Blue Mound, used a house on Dipper Lane that is slated for demolition as a training site. 

South Macon firefighter Gavin Brand practices clearing out a window during a recent training exercise.

South Wheatland firefighter Michael Warnick tears down a curtain to get it out of the way during training for practicing forced entry.

Blue Mound Fire Department lieutenant Brian Vanscyoc practices clearing out a window during training.

Blue Mound Fire Department lieutenant Brian Vanscyoc practices clearing out a window.

Blue Mound firefighter Brandon Teitsort practices clearing out a window during a training exercise at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

South Macon firefighter Ryan Flemming practices clearing out a window during a training exercise at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

Firefighters from South Wheatland, South Macon, Mount Zion and Blue Mound fire departments suit up for training at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

Contact Valerie Wells at (217) 421-7982. Follow her on Twitter: @modgirlreporter

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Blue Mound firefighter Brandon Teitsort practices clearing out a window during a training exercise at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

Firefighters from South Wheatland, South Macon, Mount Zion and Blue Mound fire departments suit up for training at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

South Macon firefighter Gavin Brand practices clearing out a window during a recent training exercise.

Blue Mound Fire Department lieutenant Brian Vanscyoc practices clearing out a window during training.

South Wheatland firefighter Michael Warnick tears down a curtain to get it out of the way during training for practicing forced entry.

Blue Mound Fire Department lieutenant Brian Vanscyoc practices clearing out a window.

South Macon firefighter Ryan Flemming practices clearing out a window during a training exercise at an unoccupied house owned by the Macon County Conservation District.

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