Can you donate your house to a fire department as a training burn?

Posted by admin on December 29th, 2009 and filed under fire training | 2 Comments »

Can you donate your house to a fire department as a training burn?
I am looking into purchasing a home that is uninhabitable but I love the property it is on and would like to build on the land. Can the volunteer fire department use it as a practice burn? I thought I read somewhere that they do this. Also will the foundation be stable after a fire? Or is there no way to know until after the fire.

Yes you can. Although, due to recent enforcements in training burns by the NFPA, FDs must be careful when accepting a house to use for training.

Just to give you an idea of what will be required by you the homeowner if the Fd accepts the house to burn:

Proof of canceled insurance policy or affidavit of such
Permission from any neighboring property owners
Removal of all plumbing and wiring
Removal of shingles and asphalt paper
Removal of any asbestos (abated)
And any necessary permits that may be required
All this is required by NFPA 1402 & 1403

As far as clean up goes, it will be a lot less expensive afterward as there will be less debris.

Get in contact with your local department and see if they would be interested.

2 Responses

  1. rocksolid Says:

    I THINK IT WOULD BE MORE WORK FOR YOU IN THE END. THEYRE GONNA GO MAKE A MESS AND IT’S GONNA COST YOU MORE. PLUS IF IT GETS OUT OF HAND AND BURNS PROPERTY NEXT DOOR, GUESS WHO’S GONNA GET SUED.
    References :

  2. firelt28 Says:

    Yes you can. Although, due to recent enforcements in training burns by the NFPA, FDs must be careful when accepting a house to use for training.

    Just to give you an idea of what will be required by you the homeowner if the Fd accepts the house to burn:

    Proof of canceled insurance policy or affidavit of such
    Permission from any neighboring property owners
    Removal of all plumbing and wiring
    Removal of shingles and asphalt paper
    Removal of any asbestos (abated)
    And any necessary permits that may be required
    All this is required by NFPA 1402 & 1403

    As far as clean up goes, it will be a lot less expensive afterward as there will be less debris.

    Get in contact with your local department and see if they would be interested.
    References :
    Firefighter/Instructor & Certified Burn Master 22 years

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