GREENWOOD TWP — Two Greenwood firefighters got a little more training than expected on Oct. 25, when a planned fire at a vacant house in Angora, used as part of firefighter training overseen by Minnesota North-Hibbing, got briefly out of control and scorched the exterior of Greenwood’s No. 1 engine. It also caused damage to some onboard equipment, the extent of which was not available as of press time.
The live burn exercise had eight firefighters from Cook, Greenwood, and Babbitt on scene, along with nine instructors from Minnesota North-Hibbing.
The fire truck was parked relatively close to the structure, but it was in the location directed by the fire instructors on scene. The Greenwood firefighters were stationed as a backup to the entry teams, according to details given to the Greenwood Town Board after the incident.
The live burn was started at 10:47 a.m., according to information from Minnesota North, and there were five individual live burns where firefighters engaged in training, which lasted until 11:53 a.m. After that, the house was prepared for a burn down.
“As best we can tell, the house was fully engulfed in flames by around 12:13 p.m., and then by 12:15 p.m., the fire began to spread. By 12:31 p.m. the fire was contained,” said Trent Janezich, who oversees customized training for the college.
“During the final phase of the burn, the structure fire intensified rapidly and was fully involved in less than three minutes. Due to a lack of water supply and outside support, our crew had to act immediately to protect the apparatus and control the surrounding fire spread. While no injuries occurred, Engine #1 did sustain minor cosmetic heat-related damage to exterior components and onboard equipment,” wrote Fire Chief Brian Trancheff and firefighter Brianna Lofquist.
Janezich said, “We believe we can never have enough water for training scenarios like this. There was adequate water supply that allowed for the fire to be contained in around 18 minutes from the time it was fully engulfed to the time of containment.”
“We are proud to report that Greenwood personnel successfully suppressed the advancing fire, kept the tree line from igniting further, and prevented more severe damage to the apparatus,” he continued. “Our crew was the only one actively engaged on that side of the fire during the most critical moments, and their actions directly protected the engine and the surrounding area.”
Photos posted online of the training showed the house totally engulfed in flames and scorched grass leading right to the Greenwood truck. The department will be submitting a claim for insurance reimbursement.
“Engine #1 remains in service and fully operational. We are thankful for the opportunity to train in live fire conditions and for the lessons learned during this event,” they told the supervisors.
“Minnesota North College appreciates our fire training partners, specifically Cook VFD, Babbitt VFD, and Greenwood VFD,” said Janezich, “and we are thankful for the professionalism by which they handled this incident.  We are glad that nobody was injured and that any damage to the Greenwood’s Engine #1 appears to be cosmetic.”