WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) – Wausau fire crews will be back on the west side of town to continue live training excercises.
Traffic on South 8th Avenue from Rosecrans to Thomas will be closed off tomorrow as crews get in some fire fighting training. The house is scheduled to be demolished as part of the road widening project on Thomas.
Battalion chief Paul Czarapata says the city wanted to let them have a chance to train. Starting on Saturday, the whole house will be set on fire so crews can get in training putting out the fire. “Some time around noon we'll be burning that structure to the ground, and during that time you could see some heavy smoke.”
Earlier in the week, a training company started smaller fires inside the house to simulate accidental and intentionally set fires. That gave fire investigators from the city and the county a chance to hone their forensic skills in determining fire origins.
Czarapata says police and fire personnel will be along Thomas Street to help alert people to the training, and to help keep traffic flowing. “We will not be shutting down Thomas because of the traffic volume.” He's asking residents to keep moving in an orderly fashion along the busy street.
