Joint structure-fire training

Theodosia Area Volunteer Fire Department hosted a joint training exercise June 6 with Timber Knob VFD in which new volunteers were able to experience a real house fire in a controlled-burn environment, reports TAVFD spokesperson Tracy Meal. An Isabella-area house was destroyed at the request of property owner Montie Hambleton, said Meal. After the electricity, propane and water were disconnected, the two departments used the house for the joint training exercise. TAVFD chief Tim Jeffery and Timber Knob chief Nancy Winslow shifted the original start time to earlier in the day, hoping to avoid the worst of the day’s predicted high temperatures. They also made sure the firefighters stayed hydrated during the exercise. The volunteer firefighters rotated in and out of hose duty and successfully worked to keep the fire away from the neighboring structure, the power lines in front of the structure and the well head behind the house. Meal said TAVFD was short on volunteers the day of the training, and Timber Knob volunteers were a “huge help. We could not have done it without them,” she said. “Overall, the training went well and without a single hitch.”