901 Taft St. N brought down in Humboldt FD’s controlled burn

By: Donovan W. Mann – [email protected]

Humboldt, IA – The Humboldt Fire Department is receiving experience and training as they take part in a controlled burn near Highway 3

On Saturday, Aug. 22, members of the Humboldt Fire Department took part in the burning of the house at 901 Taft Street North located near Hwy 3. Among the crew and calling the shots was Chief Jim Gronbach who talks with KHBT on the process that goes into a control burn.

He says to get the permission to do a controlled burn it starts with asking for permission from the proper authority. The chief says that the process starts by filing a report with the state. He says the reason for this is they have to file any hazards that might be in the house that would be toxic to burn such as asbestos. He also confirms that a controlled burn is used as a training tool for the fire fighters.

When it comes to set up Chief Gronbach says there are multiple things they have to take into account. When training and preparing for a controlled burn one of the things had to consider is positioning of the trucks and waters supply. The fire department also has to take into consider areas that need the most attention and protection. For this particular burn there was a transmission line near the north side of the building that the chief says was their biggest concern. He also says that the winds are a big factor. If the winds had been northward, they would not have burned because smoke would have carried into the surround residential areas.

When it comes to the actual burn Chief Gronbach says the department’s job is to keep the fire and heat as tightly contained as possible. He says the process started by lighting the fire in the center of the home near the stairs and poking a hole through to the attic. The plan is to have the house collapse internally. As the fire goes the fire chief says the main job of the fire fighters is to keep the outside wet so that the fire only burns the home and nothing else. They also provide a fog screen in order to keep the heat down and make sure nothing overheats, including their own trucks and equipment.

While the process and training for the controlled burn takes a decent amount of time, the fire itself is a couple hour long process. The fire was lit around 7:45 am and within an hour the structure had collapsed. Chief Gronbach says he is satisfied with how the process went from start to finish with his crew getting valuable experience during the controlled setting