The Peru Gazette

By John T. Ryan

Several area residents reported seeing black smoke rising from a 507 Route 22B residence last evening.  The home burned to the ground, but it wasn’t bad news because the Peru Volunteer Fire Department was conducting a “practice burn” at the vacant house located across from Dimock Farms.  Chief Brian Westover said, “This is the first home we’ve had for a practice burn in about seven years.”

The practice burn enabled the Fire Department to give its new members valuable training. Before setting the entire home ablaze, a firefighter ignited a smoke fire in a 55-gallon drum in the home’s interior.  Using ladders and a South Plattsburgh Fire Department aerial ladder the firefighters mounted the home’s roof where they used axes and chain saws to cut ventilation holes.  Ventilation holes reduce smoke and reduce temperatures within a burning structure.  Next, the firefighters set a room ablaze and with the help of breathing apparatus they entered the home to extinguish the blaze.  Finally, the entire home was set afire giving firefighters the opportunity spray water on the building’s exterior. The department’s new pumper, referred to as Brutus, can pump up to 2,000 gallons a minute.  Experienced firefighters instructed the new members as they performed all this training.

The 1100-degree temperatures measured on the house’s roofline made it a very warm summer evening for the personnel.  The firefighters volunteer to do this while most of us are comfortable in our air-conditioned homes. A second practice burn will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 23, 2011 at a large home near the corner of the Mannix and Clark Roads. (Click here to see more Peru Gazette photos).