The Perry and Dawson joint Volunteer Fire Department held their second fire training session this year on Saturday morning, gaining valuable experience in the process.

The fire crews gathered at an abandoned house in Dawson, which had been provided by its current owner for use in the training. Assistant Fire Chief Brian Eiteman said they were able to practice search and rescue techniques as well as some interior attacks. The Fire Department previously had a training exercise on April 20th in Perry, and Eiteman said that getting two opportunities for live house fire training has been invaluable. “Live fire training is so rare. We’re going to get those guys acclimated to actually being in a fire situation. (The) more you learn in the heat of the moment, the more you’re going to remember for future fires. Those two in a couple months is a rarity. You know it’s been probably two or three years since the last time we’ve had a house to burn. Other than that we use trailers, and they don’t have the same feel as what a house does.”

Eiteman added, he felt the crews learned a lot from this exercise and the previous one, which is their primary intention. The training went off without a hitch, with no neighboring structures or trees affected, and the house was reduced to a concrete slab. There will be additional cleanup in the coming weeks.