PHOTOS: Hamilton Firefighters Get Real Life Practice in Donated House

Hamilton firefighters trained for six hours on Saturday morning in a vacant home that was donated to the department.

The 17 firefighters that took part in the training had an opportunity to use various skills – from advancing a charged hose line in a home and ventilating a building to forcible entry and overhaul.

“Stage smoke” was used in the home, but everything else was real.

“The only difference was that we didn’t have the heat,” said Chief Phil Stevens.

The home was donated by Jay Burnham, who now plans to tear it down and build a new home.

There were many spectators for the training and “it was very exciting and informational for those of us in the neighborhood as well,” Burnham said.

It was the first time in about two to three years that Hamilton firefighters had the chance to train in a vacant home. A home on Sagamore Street was donated to the department a few years ago, Stevens said.

“It’s been quite a while,” he said.

The training also marked the arrival of two new full-time Hamilton firefighters, Ryan Goodwin and Bob Wallace. Goodwin, who has been a Hamilton call firefighter and who has been filling in for open shifts in recent weeks, took the spot vacated when Andre Painchaud transferred to the Lynn Fire Department. Painchaud remains a call firefighter in Hamilton too.

Wallace fills the position vacated when Firefighter Skip Mullen retired last month. Wallace, a Hamilton resident, had been a call firefighter in Wenham.

In addition to the Hamilton firefighters, Hamilton selectman Jeff Stinson dressed in fire gear and went inside.

“It was an incredible experience putting on the gear and entering the smoke-filled home,” Stinson said in an e-mail afterward. “According to the guys, these were staged conditions so the visibility was much better than normal fires and the heat was also nowhere near what I would have experienced in a real fire; That makes me even more appreciative of the work our fire fighters do to protect our lives and our homes.”