Firefighter training planned for West Woodland next week

Next week, a group of new firefighters will be training at two vacant homes in West Woodland.

The Seattle Fire Department will use 919 and 923 NW 51st Ave as their training ground from May 8th through 10th. The live-fire training is used by the department to give new recruits real fire scenarios in a controlled setting. It’s also the final evaluation of what the new firefighters have learned over 12 weeks of training.

For the live-fire training, local streets will be closed for safety. The fire department will close NW 51st St between 9th Ave and 11 Ave from 7am to 6pm each day, and there will be no curbside parking on both sides of NW 51st St within 100 feet east and west of the houses. SFD says there will be firefighters helping to direct access to that block for residents in the area.

For the training, they’ll have four to five fires spread throughout the day, each lasting 15 to 20 minutes. Prior to the burns, SFD will remove all carpet, plastics and toxic synthetic materials, and will conduct the required asbestos abatement.

Training officers will be setting wood fires in a controlled method, with safety officers on hand throughout.

“We recognize that this training exercise may present inconveniences to your daily schedules and we thank you for your patience and understanding,” SFD writes on the Fireline Blog.

SFD says the training is in accordance with Puget Sound Clean Air Agency regulations — the amount of smoke that will come from the controlled burns will be the equivalent to smoke coming from a fireplace.

Onlookers are welcome — SFD says neighbors can watch the trainings between 9am and 5pm each day.