Fire’s gonna be right about here, more or less.

Press release from Fortuna Fire:

The Eel River Valley Probationary Fire Academy will conduct a structure fire training burn on August 11, 2024, on Tompkins Hill Road in Fortuna. The training will begin at 8:00 a.m. with multiple interior firefighting evolutions followed by demolition of the structure by approximately 2:00 p.m. Access to Tompkins Hill Road may be subject to short delays to allow for water tender/shuttle operations. Caution is advised.

Through the generosity of the property owners and the cooperation of the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District, these new firefighters from in and around the Eel River Valley will experience the opportunity to test the various skills learned in the academy. One of the primary objectives of the training will be to provide students the opportunity to experience live fire in a controlled environment, allowing the students to feel the reality of heat as in that of an actual structure fire. Training of this type is invaluable and not easy to come by as structures available for training are few and far between.

The live fire training will wrap up an intense seven-week academy where recruits were taught entry-level structural firefighting and rescue skills necessary to bring these new firefighters into compliance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) training standards and ensure that they can operate both safely and efficiently on the fire ground and/or rescue scene.

Please forward any questions to Public Information Officer Kirsten Foley, Fortuna Volunteer Fire Department. (707)407-6516.