That Smoke from Canal Drive Kennewick? KFD Live Fire Training

Don’t Panic, or call 9-1-1, the Kennewick Fire Department will already be there.

  First Time in 25 Years, KDF is Doing Live Fire Training on a ‘Real’ Building

It’s called a Burn and Learn event,  tomorrow, June 15th, and Kennewick Fire crews will be torching a real building—on purpose.

   Many Cities Utilize Donated Buildings

Some communities purchase abandoned structures for pennies on the dollar, provided they’re not too close to other structures.  Others utilize donated buildings, and they’re all used for real, live fire training.

KFD is doing a Burn and Learn event, it’s different when you are fighting a ‘real’ fire in a real building, as opposed to a training facility.

 The Building? The Old Ernies Car Place

The City of Kennewick says the old Ernie’s Car Place, for years a fixture at 902 West Canal Drive, will be set on fire, intentionally, at 9 AM on Monday Jun 15th.  Crews will then practice techniques to suppress the blaze, as well as access and other training to help get people out.  A number of firefighting tools and techniques will be tested on the structure.

The facility has been closed for some time and was donated to the city

The drills will last until noon.

 During the Event Traffic Will be Limited.

According to the City of Kennewick:

“Smoke, fire and traffic impacts expected

Surrounding residential and commercial neighbors on Canal Drive have been alerted to the training exercise. Heavy smoke and visible flames are expected, and it’s important for the community to know this is a planned exercise with layers of safety protections.

Canal Drive in front of the former car lot will be reduced to one lane from 8:45 a.m. to noon on June 15, supported by the Kennewick Police Department.”