Firefighters from 24 departments in Michigan and Indiana learned how to fight some of the most dangerous fires during training Wednesday in Livonia.
Basement fires are risky. "It’s the most hazardous fire as firefighters we can fight. We are basically going down the chimney," said Brian Kazmierzak, the training coordinator for the Benton Harbor Fire Department.
Crews went into shipping containers designed to simulate basements as they learned techniques for handling the fires.
"We are burning some dollhouses or Barbie's house, which is a small-scale fire behavior prop," Kazmierzak said.
The training hosted by the Livonia and Northville Township fire departments is thanks to a federally funded grant program that allows firefighters to practice scenarios they could encounter in the field.