Poplar Bluff firefighters took part in a live burn training opportunity Tuesday on the east side of town.
Poplar Bluff Fire Chief Mike Moffitt explained how the department acquires the homes they use for live burn training.
“These houses are on the city’s tear-down list,” he said. “If they’re in a location where there are no other structures close, we’ll be able to check for asbestos and if we don’t have to have major expense in the removal of that, then we can do some live burn training with them and it does save the city a little money — we can burn it down versus tearing it down.”
The live burn training is something the department takes part in on a regular basis, according to Moffitt.
“We do six to eight hours of live burn training every quarter,” he said. “We try to do a couple of houses a year and then we also have the training facility at Three Rivers. We try to utilize that a couple of times a year also.
“It’s good to experience, a live burn in a controlled atmosphere, so they’re a little bit more comfortable with the real thing.”
Moffitt explained the many safety precautions taken before a live burn, such as checking with the local utility companies, inspecting for asbestos and removing shingles.
“There can’t be any type of petroleum or plastics in the house,” stated Moffitt.
Poplar Bluff Fire Capt. Steve Burkhead, who also works as an adjunct trainer for the Three Rivers Fire Academy, expressed his excitement for the training opportunity.
“We don’t get to do these very often,” he said. “When we get an acquired structure, it gives us an opportunity for our newer guys to get in and get training that you can get in a fixed facility as we have at Three Rivers.”
“The fires at Three Rivers are inside an actual steel burn building that is set up with safety in mind,” said Burkhead. “With the live burn, they get some real-life experiences. The smoke travels differently, the heat travels differently, so this is good, especially as many new guys as we have brought on in the department over the last few years.”
One of the newest dedicated members of the Poplar Bluff Fire Department is Tanner Tibbs. Tibbs said he has been with the department for around a year and a half and he loves taking part in the live burns with his coworkers.
“I gained a lot of knowledge of not only being inside where you can’t see, you get in an atmosphere that is a whole lot different than most people are used to, and school is good and it trains you for this stuff, but being in a real house on fire is a completely different thing,” said Tibbs.