There will be a house fire in Shippensburg this weekend

Crews from four companies will respond to a house fire on Sunday in the Shippensburg area.  

No one is predicting the future. A house on Walnut Bottom Road will be set ablaze so that firefighters can practice what to do when a real fire emergency happens. 

Members of the Shippensburg Fire Department's three companies - Vigilant Hose Co., Cumberland Valley Hose Co. and West End Fire and Rescue - and South Newton Volunteer Fire Co. will participate in the structural burn session at a property located across from JLG Industries, according to a news release. 

Firefighters will have classroom training and a walk-through of the two-story house on Saturday, then hold the live burn on Sunday. Instructors will set up a variety of scenarios throughout the house that firefighters could find when responding to such a call.

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The house is on property owned by JLG, and is scheduled for demolition.

While firefighters regularly put out blazes at houses, they rarely get the opportunity to train in the scenario when real residents and property are not at stake, Vigilant Hose Co. Chief Clyde Tinner said in the release. 

“The training we do in burn buildings, like at the Franklin County Public Safety Training Center, is certainly beneficial, but this will be more real for our firefighters — a scenario that they could face at any time,” he said.

Walnut Bottom Road will be open on Sunday, but fire apparatus will be entering and leaving the property at various times throughout the training.

Amber South can be reached at asouth@publicopinionnews.com.