Chelsea Fire brings down the house

In January, Chelsea Fire and Rescue acted as a demolition squad for the City of Chelsea by setting fire to an abandoned home. The event provided the department a rare occasion to train with live fire, but it also cleared the way for Chelsea’s planned community center.

“This is an opportunity for us to do live fire training,” Fire Chief Wayne Shirley said. “We do simulated training pretty regularly, but occasionally we’ll get a house such as this donated to us that needs to be gone from its lot.”

Shirley said the department had been preparing for the live burn for three weeks, conducting training exercises inside, including search and rescue drills. During the live fire training, crews from both Chelsea and the Pelham Fire Department practiced attacking fires in different areas of the home.

“It’s a different experience being inside than compared to going outside on hot day,” Chelsea Fire’s Lt. Ben Hostetter said of being inside the burning home. “Our gear protects us, but you feel it most of the time. It’s extremely hot.”

The house used for training on County Road 47 across from Liberty Baptist Church was the only structure remaining on 37 acres of city-owned land. Chelsea Mayor Earl Niven said following its removal, the next steps in creating the community center on the site would begin.

Niven said architectural and engineering planning would be completed in time for work to begin on the new center this spring, tentatively in March or April.

“We have had what we called a senior center since Chelsea became a city in 1996, but it was just an old hunting camp,” Chelsea Councilman Dale Neuendorf said. “This center will have everything for toddlers through senior citizens.”

Neuendorf said the new center will use approximately 9 acres of the 37-acre site. The remaining area will be shaped into walking trails and other outdoor recreation areas. Inside, the center will house a full basketball court, elevated walking track, meeting rooms and game rooms.