By: Hollie Hojek
hhojek@kcautv.com
The volunteer fire department in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa got a very rare opportunity Thursday night. It was able to do a mock fire drill inside an empty house.
Sonja Radican and her husband bought the old, two-story, Victorian home at an auction, a little less than a year ago.
They planned to use it as a rental property. But after seeing the condition the house was in, they decided instead of fixing it up, they would tear it down and rebuild. But not before they let the Sergeant Bluff Fire Department get its hands on it.
"I'm excited, but it's sad to see such an old Victorian house go, it really is," said Radican.
The Sergeant Bluff Volunteer Fire Department arrived at the rental property Thursday night, for the mock fire. They performed a variety of tasks, it normally otherwise would not get the opportunity to train for.
"A lot of overhaul skills, we'll get to pull ceilings down, we'll get to breach walls. If we had a firefighter trapped somewhere, or if we had to get to out. So a lot of skills we normally otherwise wouldn't get to practice," said Anthony Gaul, Sergeant Bluff Fire Chief.
The training session was expected to last about three hours. The house will actually be demolished early next week.
