Pittsfield Township firefighters got some intense training action Thursday morning as they worked to control a raging barn fire on Warner Road.
Captain Jeff Foulke said the training exercise in the 6700 block of Warner Road was one of a few sessions the department gets per year working on a nearly out-of-control blaze. While the department has training on a regular basis, it’s not the same as practicing on a real fully engulfed building.
Foulke said the five or six minutes where the barn went from slightly-burned-out-but-standing to being consumed by bright orange flames was the most important part of Thursday's training exercise.
“That’s where the real value comes in,” he said.
The barn was previously damaged during an arson in April 2011. Two teenagers were charged in the fire.
Smoke from the training exercise could be seen for miles around the Ann Arbor area on a clear Thursday morning. Families that lived near the structure gathered to watch the barn and storage sheds nearby go up in flames.
Foulke said the department was practicing what it would need to do if a firefighter were trapped inside a burning building, as well as getting familiar with an out-of-control fire. He said most of the blazes firefighters respond to are contained to small portions of homes and don’t cause total destruction like the barn blaze.
Thinking about the training exercise kept Foulke up the night before the burn. He said he thought a lot about cancelling the exercise after a firefighter died in Westland during a fire at a commercial building Wednesday. However, he said it was important to go ahead with the burn, which had been planned for weeks.
“We’re doing this out of respect for their department, not disrespect,” he said.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.