I Always Love A Good Home Cooking

The other day I got a chance to witness a live fire training with the Chico Fire Department. The training involves testing fire scenarios in a home that has been donated for demolition. At the end of the training the home is set ablaze. This type of training provides firefighters with real life planning on how to study fire behavior and better understand tactics in fighting house fires.

A home along E. 9th St. is engulfed in flames during a "Live Fire Training Burn Operation" Saturday, March 27, 2009 in Chico, CA. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

Flames burst out of a window on a home used as a "Live Fire Training Burn Operation" for Chico Fire. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

I have seen several homes catch on fire. Chico firefighters have a response time of about 4 minutes. This means that when a call is made to 911 about a fire, I have 4 minutes to see any flames. There is not that much time for me to respond, especially since I do not have an sirens or lights to race to the scene. Most of the time when I arrive at a fire, firefighter have already put out the flames. This is a good thing, seeing how it is such a devastation to have homes destroyed by fires.

Chico firefighter Lani Bangay (left) and volunteer firefighter Aaron Rafe (right) hose down the fire as they conducted a "Live Fire Training Burn Operation" on a home along E. 9th St. Saturday, March 27, 2009 in Chico, CA. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

Debris falls inside a home that is set ablaze for a training. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

A slow exposure captures flames flowing over the home used in a "Live Fire Training Burn Operation". (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

A phone book is set ablaze as it sits on the porch of a home burn down for a training. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

A more rare opportunity is when I get to see a house burn down. I am always reminded of the movie "Backdraft" at live fire trainings. The movie portrayed fire as having this life and personality. This personality of fire can be seen at fire trainings. When fire engulfs a home it burns at a very hot temperature. You can feel the heat burn your skin even from 50ft away. Inside the home where the flames are the strongest, the fire will whip around like a velvet cloth in the wind. Pictures don't do real justice to the movement of fire. I have always found fire very intriguing. It feels like its own element with its own behavior and rules.

Chico Fire volunteer firefighter Aaron Rafe hoses down the fire as they conducted a "Live Fire Training Burn Operation" on a home along E. 9th St. Saturday, March 27, 2009 in Chico, CA. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

An eerie scene as flames burst out of windows on a home along E. 9th St. for a fire training. (Jason Halley/Chico Enterprise-Record)

Fire has always captivated me. I am not a pyro or anything. I just always remember enjoying watching a campfire. I know that if I wasn't a photographer I might have been a firefighter. I do like the fact that as a photojournalist I get to see what firefighters see without any of the risk they put their lives into everyday. This trainings help them learn so much about saving lives, and they give me a great opportunity to see some nice "home cooking".



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