Guys I am burning an old farmhouse down. The fire Dept. wont burn it for training because they feel the floor is too weak but the fire chief said I could bun it myself. Just curious how to do it. Should I just start the fire in the center of the house or should I getting it started from end to end. It doesn't need to be controlled but getting as much as possible to fall into the basement would be the plan.

Any tips is appreciated

To collapse it in on itself I would light it in the center of the structure on a calm day. If the day is windy I would light it on the windward side, so it burns faster, also it will burn better if all interior and exterior doors are open to keep fresh air flowing through it.

It surprises me the fire dept don’t want anything to do with it for training bc even if they don’t enter the house they can learn a bunch just by watching it burn

I can't imagine that it would be legal for you to do that. Here in PA it is a violation of the Solid Waste Disposal Act. Be sure you check with someone other than the Fire Chief before lighting it. I would at a minimum check with local law enforcement and your state environmental agency.

Make sure you let the fire Dept. know you are burning it. I would check for any ordinances in place. If you have a 911 system in place let them know also, someone driving by may report the fire or smoke. Have a water supply in case it is needed.
I know more information than you wanted. But cover all the bases.

the FD now needs a lot of EPA type testing to make sure that there is not an environmental hazard also they light them on fire and put them out about 10 times before they finally let them blaze

liability no no here besides the epa

I would definitely cover all the bases to make sure you are compliant.

I would definitely have the fire department there even they don't want to use it for training. You need them there to make sure it doesn't spread to something else , also need them to extinguish it when it is done. A decent 'donation in kind' can work wonders there for that.

You said it was old. If it is balloon framed , getting fire in the outer walls will burn it down quickly. If it is real old and post and beam , different story. Your fire department can offer suggestions for both. Again , a decent ' donation in kind' can build some bridges quickly with your fire department.

And I'll say it again , cover your butt. Having the FD there to just fire watch and extinguish covers a lot of liability.

Why Not Burn Structures?
Property owners often think of burning structures instead of demolishing them because burning reduces the
amount of demolition material that needs to be removed.

The problem is, burning structures create large amounts of smoke which may contain hazardous substances.
The smoke may affect the health of persons nearby, create localized odors and can contaminate land and water
downwind. In particular, the open burning of materials like carpeting, shingles, electrical wiring and
appliances, plastic pipes, drywall and paint may emit hazardous air pollutants such as dioxins, heavy metals and
airborne asbestos, which is a carcinogen.

For these reasons, Wisconsin’s air and waste laws prohibit burning structures (see chs. NR 429.04 and 502.11,
Wis. Adm. Code, in chs. NR 429 and NR 502, respectively), under all but very limited circumstances
(addressed under “Fire Training Exercises”).

Here's a link to some information on the DNR website. Make sure you're not setting yourself up for environmental violations.


http://dnr.wi.gov/files/PDF/pubs/wa/WA1429.pdf

BTW, I got to burn down my old fire school. It was just a contractor type trailer set up as a classroom. We now have a nice new building with bays for apparatus , multiple classrooms , couple offices , kitchen , bathrooms and spare room in the engine bay for training.




Kinda cool , I can knock that off my bucket list , I got to burn my school down......lol

I'm surprised someone hasn't burned it down already,,

Where my hunting property is, if a place remains vacant for awhile, the kids will break in, have a party, and burn it down when they leave.

There USED to be my Grandfolks house on it....