Lexington Fire Academy’s recruits received a rare training opportunity on Thursday: a real fire.
The trainees, part of Recruit Class 73, joined several probationary firefighters at a property on Man o’ War Boulevard, east of Interstate 75, to battle a intentionally set structure fire.
Trainees haven’t done such an exercise in 10 years, said Battalion Chief Derek Roberts. They normally train on metal cargo containers used at the academy.
“We don’t get this every recruit class,” said Shane Poynter, Battalion Chief of Training for the Lexington Fire Department. “This gives them an opportunity to see what they’re going to be seeing out on the street when they get assigned to front-line fire engines and ladders. They get to see how fire behaves in a real house.”
In all, 30 future firefighters participated in the activity — 20 recruits and 10 probationary firefighters who are still new to the job. Instructors set several fires in the house, and then safely burn it down altogether when training is complete.