BOUTON, Iowa — Firefighters from the Bouton Volunteer Fire Department and Woodward Volunteer Fire Department staged a house fire Sunday morning as a training exercise.

About 20 firefighters from the two departments gathered at 9 a.m. at 107 W. Third St. in Bouton at a vacant house owned by Donna Mae Boldny that was built in 1900, according to county records.

Bouton Fire Captain Jordan James said the training exercise involved two-member teams making an interior attack and honing such skills as follow the hose and finding the hot spots. Fireworks were detonated inside the structure in order to simulate explosions that could occur in a real house.

James said the firefighters also practiced a bail-out exercise from second floor by imagining their exit down the stairs was blocked and they breaking out an upper-story window and exiting via a ladder.

The house was largely consumed by the time storm clouds started to roll in about 1 p.m.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.