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Show CLEAiiFlt.LD COUftlLK, May 2. 1979, Page 9 WAS given by Officer Bruce Gunderson traffic as began piling up as spectators gathered to watch the fire. Both firemen and policemen were involved in the training as it provided a true situation. ASSISTANCE g WIND AND FIRE combined to create a tornado-lik- e effect as flames spread through the house. fire Training provides real-lif- e fighting experience for firemen ARSONIST, Training Officer Neil Coker of the Sunset Fire Department, switches roles as he prepares to "set" a fire in Sunset. The house, donated by Paul Silletti, was used by firemen to acquaint them with real firefighting techniques. PLAYING Photos by Pat Sutter and Rod Hasler Pat Sutter The rest is now history. A call was put into both the Sunspectators gathered last set and Clinton Fire DepartThursday evening as a fire ments. . men responded and completely destroyed a home put out die blaze. Another fire in Sunset. However, few of was intentionally set in the them were aware that it had front bedroom. Again it was been set by the firemen. quickly doused. As smoke filled the home Paul Silletti, planning to build a shopping complex at and flames reached towards the site, donated the house to the roof, the; firemen used Sunset firemen for a training equipment to chop through exercise. About 6 p.m. Sunset thereof. .still more training Training Officer Neil Coker exercises. For some of the took a can of gasoline into the SJen from both departments, was their first experience back bedroom of the home,' soaked down the room, and at fighting a house fire. The struck up a match. training was invaluable for By SUNSET Hundreds of . . the men, Coker. Its train under reported Mr. not often we can such ideal situations. The only problem the firemen had was trying to finish the job. After over an hour of setting various fires and putting them out, the inside of the home was a little damp. They had a rough time getting the final, devasting blaze going. But shortly after dark the home was fully engulfed in flames and little 'remained for construction crews to move the following morning. CLIMBING TO THE roof, firemen from Sunset (front) and Clinton (rear) learned techniques of using equipment to chop through the roof of a home. and Neil Coker, Sunset Fire Department training officer, cen- BURNED COMPLETELY to the ground, the home was destroyed by the fire. Plans are ter. watch as volunteer firemen prepare equipment to fight a "staged" house fire being made to begin clearing the land for the proposed shopping complex, Commonwealth Square. !it Thursday night. MAYOR NORM SANT J GOING THROUGH the front door, Sunset firemen had little trouble extinguishing flames in this practice drill. Firemen had a hard time getting the final blaze going as everything was so wet inside from earlier fires, ONLY HALF a tree stands near where the front of the house was. window. It was located next to the front bedroom |