NEWPORT, Wash. – On Saturday morning, the house across the street from the Newport Hospital and Health Services (NHHS) building was supposed to be on fire.
“It’s a really good training opportunity,” South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue (SPOFR) Firefighter Kyle Stutzman. “We get to watch the progress of the flames and smoke. A lot of times we get on scene and it’s already gone for a while.”
The house was an accounting building for NHHS, but after years of use, was no longer habitable. Instead of spending money with a controller demolition, NHHS donated the building to SPOFR to use for training, the second time they’ve done so.
“(This) gives us the opportunity to reduce the cost of what it would cost us to demolish and haul away a building,” Jenny Smith, a media representative with NHHS said, “And it provides invaluable training to our first responders.”
The exercise had nearly 50 firefighters from SPOFR, Pend Oreille County Fire District 2, West Pend Oreille Fire District, Spokane County Fire District 4, Pend Oreille Fire District 4 and Kalispel Tribal Fire.
“We can stage some of these but we don’t have the opportunity to do them as a regular house,” Rick O’Brien, a media representative for NHHS said. He hopes this exercise can transition smoothly into recruiting new volunteers.
“We desperately need volunteers and volunteers are needed and appreciated with South Pend Oreille Fire and Rescue,” he said.
You can look up how to volunteer at spofr.org.
