No turning back now.

1st week of May

I am not sure when exactly we got the idea to donate our house to Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Academy, for training purposes.  But we embraced the idea when we saw Nicholas' hard work and long hours when he was attending the Academy to become a Volunteer Fireman.  After waiting far too long to see our project become real, it seemed only too appropriate that we start by burning down the old house.

Of course, a home owner doesn't do much of anything to their property in Fairfax County without wading though lots of paperwork.  Once we submitted several forms, an asbestos inspection report, and our house Demolition Permit, the training date was set for May 2nd.


Water tubs for the pumper trucks.

 It was a beautiful day.  Blue skies and puffy white clouds, with a very slight wind.  Firemen started showing up at about 7:00 am, and spent an hour or so setting up.  By the time they started their fire drills there were at least 60 firemen milling about the yard.

The set up and organization throughout the day was very impressive.  The purpose of these drills is to give firemen the opportunity to observe and better-understand fires; how best to approach them safely to put the fire out.   Several firemen walked up to us in the course of the day to thank us for donating our house.  They rarely get to train in 2-story houses.

They basically set fire to every room of the house, one at a time.  A different fire crew would handle each room.  They positioned themselves inside and outside the house.  They let the fire go for quite awhile, just watching.  Then someone gave them the go-ahead to use the hoses. 

They started with the Family Room

.  .  .  then the Master Bedroom



.  .  .  Lauren's Bedroom



.  .  .  and the Living Room

They literally did every room in the house, on the first and second floors.  They saved the garage for last.




Thumbs up

The hoses are incredibly powerful.  No matter how far they let the fires go, once they put the hose on the room the fire was out in minutes. 

By 2:00 pm they were done.  As most crews packed up and left, some stayed behind to "make safe" the house.  They cut several holes in the roof, and broke EVERY window and door, even pulling out the frames.  The house was still standing when they left, but it wasn't pretty. 

We were definitely past the point of no return.  Onward and upward.