A billowing plume of gray smoke filled the sky near downtown Hickory around 1 p.m. Thursday.
On the scene, near the corner of First Street SE and Third Avenue SE, a pile of rubble and ash sat idly on one property with heat emanating from a house fire on the adjoining lot.
However, this was not the scene of a tragic blaze, but rather training grounds for dozens of firefighters.
Spectators were greeted with an orange sign, “Caution emergency drill in progress,” and the street was lined with orange cones to protect water hoses, carefully winding from a hydrant a few hundred feet away.