'Just another day at the office': Local firefighters use church for live training

LACONIA — Clouds of smoke rose from Faith Pointe Church on Old North Main Street Monday morning. The building was set on fire, but not for the reason one might think. Firefighters from Laconia, Meredith and Gilford took part in a live training in the building. 

“They are actually lighting fires in the building and then having to go in and find the fire and put it out,” Laconia Fire Lt. J.P. Hobby said.

The firefighters performed search and rescue practice, too.

Normally, training is done in a residential home or non-combustible building, typically one made with concrete, with propane flames like in fire academy. But this is the real deal. Hobby said trainings like this can be dangerous, but are controlled.

“It's not a safe environment because it's on fire. Anything that could go wrong, could go wrong,” he said. “But there are safeties, among backups, among backups here. There's more than enough firemen. They're in position.”

Trevor Hunnicutt, a probationary firefighter with the Meredith Fire Department, participated in the training. While the training attempts to mimic a real building fire, Hunnicutt wasn't nervous.

"It's just another day at the office. You're just kind of focused on your task, making sure that you're doing what you're supposed to be doing,” he said. “You really don't have time to be nervous or anything.”

The building is owned by Cal Dunn of Extreme Excavation. The church is old, and there were plans already to demolish the building. This led to collaboration with the fire department for a training, which concluded with the burning of the entire structure. This would not be safe if it was a typical residential building, but the church was sitting out on its own, and there is a hydrant nearby.

“There's nothing else around it. There's no other buildings to endanger,” Hobby said.

Students from the fire science program at Lakes Region Community College came with their professor, Dustin Stream, who is a volunteer firefighter in Hiram, Maine, to watch the training. The students learned about construction of a commercial building, and how it reacts to fire. They also learned about the behavior of the fire, identifying the colors of smoke, velocity, and how it pushes out through the eaves. Student Hayley Tosh, 18, was grateful to have been invited to watch.

“Not a lot of people get this access, and we have it,” she said.

Madison Talbot, 18, another student, was also excited to be there, and wished she could have been put to use.

“I'm just jealous that we're not in there,” she said.

Talbot also liked seeing the collaboration between firefighters during the training.

“Seeing how they all operate as a team, it really just makes you feel a lot safer,” she said. “Especially for me, knowing that this is my town, it makes me feel a lot safer knowing that they all know what they're doing.”