OGDEN -- Flames lit the night sky early Saturday morning as Ogden firefighters conducted a training exercise on two homes they set ablaze in the Ogden River Project area.
The early morning training took place from 3 a.m. to about 8 a.m. Saturday. Fourteen firefighters and a reserve fire engine were utilized during the training exercise.
"This training is valuable and provides some unique opportunities that are not regularly available to firefighters," Deputy Chief Chad Tucker said in a news release.
In July, Fire Chief Mike Mathieu originally proposed that many of the 45 homes located in the Ogden River Project area be burned to provide training for firefighters.
"These abandoned, worthless structures pose risk of injury to people inside these structures on fire, and to firefighters performing search/rescue efforts and fire suppression activities upon arrival," he said in a memo released in July. "This area is currently the No. 1 fire hazard target area within the city."
The department has responded to 17 structure fires in the project area over the last two and a half years.
However, the cost of asbestos removal and the concern about air quality issues ultimately led to an agreement between Mayor Matthew Godfrey and City Council Chairwoman Caitlin K. Gochnour to burn only two of the homes.
Asbestos and some trees were removed from the two homes before they were burned early Saturday, Tucker said. Other precautions were put into place before the homes were set on fire, including a clearing index for air quality and smoke dispersal, and the closure of 20th Street between Grant and Lincoln avenues.
The news release said the early morning burning was beneficial for several reasons, including the opportunity for firefighters to train at night, the minimal impact to residents because most people were indoors, wind patterns were optimal for directing smoke away from nearby residents, and the time of the fires and the lack of advance notification helped minimize onlookers.
City risk management personnel on-site monitored air quality throughout. No concerns or problems were noted during the exercise, Tucker said in the release.
It is unclear whether any other homes may be burned for firefighter training. Godfrey said several weeks ago that no more than eight other homes would be burned if it's determined that setting fire to the two homes proves more cost effective than anticipated, but he said be believes the training will include only the two homes burned Saturday.
The river project, which has been on the drawing board since 2002, is slated to encompass 60 acres straddling the Ogden River from 18th to 20th streets and Washington Boulevard to Wall Avenue.
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