April 23, 2024
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Oregon, Dixon, 3 other area fire departments hone their skills during practice fire on home

By Earleen Hinton

A volunteer firefighter sprays water on one side of an Oregon home that was burned during a training session Saturday. About 30 members of five departments, including Dixon and Franklin Grove, took part. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

OREGON — Firefighters are known for putting out fires, but on Saturday they started several—all for purpose of training and honing their blaze-battling skills.

A rural Oregon home served as the training site as a half-dozen firefighters from area departments took part in the all-day session.

“We set up several scenarios today,” Oregon Fire Chief Mike Knoup said as he commanded operations from his tent near the home on River Road, east of Oregon. “We went in and set some fires in the rooms and then firefighters went in and put them out as part of our live-fire training.”

With heavy smoke pouring out of the single-story, wood-frame home, firefighters entered marked doors finding their way through a maze of fire and smoke.

Crews from five Lee and Ogle County fire departments took part in a fire training exercise, burning a house on River Road Saturday. Fires were set inside rooms allowing firefighters to practice entering the home and extinguish the flames. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

“We have about 30 people here today with five departments taking part,” Knoup said.

After that portion of the training was completed, officials set the entire home on fire, which caused a large, black cloud of smoke and ash to rise from the home along the east side of the Rock River.

“We just let it burn while protecting some of the other structures around it,” Knoup said. “Then we will put it out and find the any hot spots.”

The new owners of the farm site offered the home as a training site, he said.

“We really appreciate the Benesh family for allowing us to burn it. This really helps with training.”

Oregon, Byron, Franklin Grove, Dixon Rural and Stillman Valley took part in the training.

A volunteer firefighter shoots a video of the house after it was allowed to burn during a fire training exercise Saturday on River Road near Oregon. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

Dixon and Frankling Grove fire departments also took part in the training. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

Firefighters set fires inside rooms and then practiced entering the structure and how to beat back the flames. The home was burned down at the end of the class offering more training for participants. (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

“We just let it burn while protecting some of the other structures around it,” Oregon Fire Chief Mike Knoup said. “Then we will put it out and find the any hot spots.” (Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media)

OregonDixonFranklin GroveFire safety
Earleen Hinton

Earleen Hinton

Earleen creates content and oversees production of 8 community weeklies. She has worked for Shaw Newspapers since 1985.