Video: Firefighters get valuable training from practice burn

Valuable instruction opportunity

 Kirby Neumann-Rea

A rare practice burn in a Hood River residential neighborhood gave firefighters from several Hood River County agencies the chance to practice hose handling techniques and other interior and exterior strategies for suppressing a house fire.

The action took place on the morning of April 5 at 22nd and May streets, in a two-story home owned by Jim Melton and Julie Wilcox. “We were going to tear it down anyway, and we know the fire department doesn’t get these very often,” Wilcox said. A large crowd formed as the flames, whipped by winds, quickly consumed the house.