MAINVILLE, Ohio — A house along Stephens Road in Hamilton Township was set on fire Friday morning, but this fire was one set by the firefighters themselves.
The Hamilton Township Fire Department and other local firefighters came together for training exercises at the house, which was owned by a local church that planned to demolish it.
"I told the chief we were buying property with the house and we were interested in them burning it down, and he came to me and said 'ooh, let us do it, let us do it," said Church Venture Pastor Kerry Thrush.
The fire department said it's been using the house for training exercises since September. On Friday, they finally, in a controlled way, burned it to the ground completely after their exercises.
"It's one of those rare opportunities you get and you just take it and run with it," said Justin Cormany, the training division chief for Hamilton Township Fire.
So Friday, they spent hours running through different training scenarios.
"We plan scenarios that are like a real situation our firefighters would run into," Cormany said.
One scenario involved a victim trapped in the kitchen of the house.
"Going into the home through a window, which is the quickest way to their victim, shutting the door and keeping the smoke and heat away from the victim," Cormany said. "And then bringing that victim out through the window, while a hose crew is simultaneously going in the house and putting the fire out."
Once what's left of the house is hauled away, Church Venture plans to replace it with a church building.
Thrush said they hope to break ground in 2025, but before then, they want to use the property as a community space.
"Use it for walking trails, we want to put up some sports fields," he said. "We're going to have movie nights. We're going to have tailgate parties."
The Hamilton Township Fire Department said anyone who has a building that needs torn down, but wants to let their local fire department use it for training first, should just give them a call.
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