Photo by Anastasia Crist
On Thursday, March 30, the Johnston-Grimes Fire Department led a controlled burn on Merle Hay Road in West Des Moines. This was made possible by a donation from Bombers Golf Course in Johnston. The golf course purchased the property where an old dealership had previously stood. The golf course plans are to utilize the lot and dispose of the building. The fire department will handle the process of demolition, clean up, and evacuation of the structure.
During demolition, the fire department set the structure ablaze to do live training for both new and established career firefighters. Firefighters need to retain a certain amount of training hours each year. On average the fire department does live training on donated structures about twice a year.
Photo by Anastasia Crist
Last fall the fire department hired 11 new firefighters for the Johnston/Grimes fire department. In order to be hired by the Johnston/Grimes fire department, applicants must pass both a written and physical test. Once chosen from that pool, the applicants then go through field training. These donated and controlled burns are a part of the field training hours that all firefighters must participate in each year to remain in the fire department.
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