Alpha Fire Company Conducts Controlled Burn for Training Exercise in Ferguson Township

Alpha Fire Company personnel got a rare opportunity for hands-on training in realistic conditions on Sunday.

In coordination with the Centre Region Fire Protection Program, the fire company conducted an “acquired structure burn” as part of an exercise on Shingletown Road in Ferguson Township.

An acquired structure burn is a live fire training exercise using a building with the permission of the property owner to provide realistic experience for firefighters. According to county records, the one-story structure used in Sunday’s exercise at 2890 Shingletown Road is on property owned by Penn State near the Ferguson Township-Harris Township line.

It was the first acquired structure burn performed in the State College area in at least 30 years, according to Alpha.

“Opportunities of this scale are rare and provide firefighters with invaluable hands-on experience in a realistic environment,” Alpha wrote in a social media post.

Many fire department vehicles operated on-site and throughout the surrounding area, including several tankers that filled and shuttled water from the State College Borough Water Authority at 1201 W. Branch Rd. to the burn site.

The Pennsylvania State Fire Academy and the Department of Environmental Protection approved the training. Emergency services were maintained throughout the Centre Region during the exercise, with on standby at the Alpha station, with Lawrence Township Volunteer Fire Company out of Clearfield County on standby at the Alpha station.

“Training opportunities such as this are critical for your Alpha volunteers to gain practical, realistic, and hands-on experience,” Alpha Fire Company wrote. “While firefighters train year-round in a variety of settings, opportunities to train in environments that closely replicate actual emergency incidents are few and far between.”

Elsewhere in Centre County, the Bellefonte Fire Department conducted a similar exercise earlier in June with a vacant house on Paradise Road near Benner Pike.

Take a look at more scenes from Alpha’s acquired structure burn on Sunday. All photos by photographer and Alpha volunteer Greg Guise.