Firefighters from Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue this month will use four condemned buildings in Kelso for training.
The buildings, which are located in the 200 and 300 blocks of Southwest Fourth and Fifth avenues and on Catlin Street, will allow firefighters and officers to practice a “variety of skills,” such as emergency scene management, search and rescue techniques, roof ventilation techniques and down firefighter rescue scenarios, according to a release.
“Having these buildings to train on is valuable. It allows our firefighters and officers to train in unknown environments creating more realistic experiences,” Cowlitz 2 Operations Chief Jason Sanders said in a prepared statement.
“There has been a lot of work put into this training and we’re excited to implement it. We thank the City of Kelso for allowing us to safely train on these buildings before they are torn down,” he said.