PORT ANGELES — Smoke spotted west of Port Angeles this weekend doesn’t necessarily mean there is an emergency.
Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue will conduct live fire training at a donated house on Saturday and Sunday, according to Chief Jake Patterson in a press release.
The owners of the house at 141 Harry Brown Road west of Port Angeles have donated the structure to allow the firefighter training, the chief said.
Crews were able to perform multiple training scenarios encompassing all aspects of fire ground operations over the last several months. The final stage of training at the structure will involve live fire evolutions — a total of some 16 burns — for local area firefighters.
During the two days, there will be smoke in the area of Harry Brown Road, which is just south of the Cameron Road/U.S. Highway 101 intersection.
There also will be an increase in emergency vehicle traffic as crews shuttle water and personnel to the scene, the chief said.
At the conclusion of the live fire training on Sunday, the donated structure will be burned to the ground. This likely will occur around mid-day and will produce a large column of smoke which will be visible in the surrounding area and from the highway.
Fire crews will remain at the location ensuring the demolition burn remains safe and to ensure the fire is contained.
“These types of training are invaluable to our firefighters and gives them the chance to practice their skills in a controlled, real fire environment,” Patterson said.
Washington state guidelines require all structural firefighters to participate in live fire training or incidents once every three years. Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue has invited neighboring fire agencies of Clallam County Fire District 4, the Port Angeles Fire Department and Clallam County Fire District 3 to also participate in the training.
“This gives our crews a good opportunity to work closely with our fire agency partners who we can expect to work with during real emergency incidents,” the chief said.
