Firefighters Train During Live Burn

Representatives from twelve local agencies took advantage of a live-burn training event on Wednesday, April 15, to sharpen their skills.

Firefighters from Jackson, Canoe, Rousseau, Wolfcoal, Vancleve, and Watts-Caney were joined by representatives from Hazard, Winchester, Harlan, and Powell County for the hands-on training at 963 Highland Avenue.

The Breathitt County Office of Emergency Management and the Breathitt-Wolfe Ambulance Service were among the estimated seventy-five personnel who attended the training.

Instructors from the Kentucky Fire Commission Regions 11 and 12 organized and conducted more than fifteen “burns” on the historic structure before the home was allowed to burn as a controlled demolition to make way for new housing in Jackson.

Fire officials led groups of firefighters into rooms in the house where they intentionally set fires in piles of straw and pallets.  Trainees observed the “nature of fire” and studied how it spread and moved.  Officials said that the knowledge gained in a controlled environment would help in real-life situations.

Crews arrived at the burn scene at 4:00 p.m., but the first burns were not conducted until 7:44.

Instructors and Jackson Fire officials worked to ensure the home was safe for training and added roofing materials to help slow the fire and make the flames “controllable.”

“This is a very old house,” a Jackson fireman said.  “We will have to work hard to control all of the burns for as long as we can.”

A little more than an hour into the exercise, flames were seen on the back portion of the roof.

“This is totally expected,” an instructor said as he directed firefighters to knock down the flickering flames that lapped out of the eave.

Firefighter continued the exercise until three blasts of the fire engine horn alerted instructors and trainees to abandon the building at 9:24 p.m.

“This was a very successful training event,” Jackson Fire Chief Chase Deaton said.  “You can study fire suppression techniques all day in the classroom, but hands-on experience is much more valuable.”

Fire crews remained on scene until 12:44 a.m. on Thursday, April 16, to ensure the fire did not spread to nearby homes or cause damage to the community.

The large home was a historic landmark in Jackson for more than 100 years.  The large house was home to the family of Judge William Turner and later the Scott family. 

Before the Turner family purchased the home, the stately structure was owned by famed feud victim James B. Marcum at the time of his 1903 assassination on the steps of the Breathitt County Courthouse.

The home was abandoned and neglected for years and was deemed beyond repair.

By Thursday morning, all that remained of the Marcum house was two large brick chimneys and some smoldering debris.

Six new homes are planned for the site as part of the City of Jackson’s Turner Court project.

Construction on the new project is slated to “begin very soon.”