Thirty five years of memories went up in smoke Friday.
The home Renee Croteau grew up in at 2172 London Line was burned to the ground by the Sarnia Fire and Rescue Service as part of a training exercise.
Croteau says her parents bought the home when she was 11 years old and sold it about a year ago and when she heard on the radio that it was going to be burned down, she had to be there.
"It's pretty emotional," says Croteau. "Lots of memories. At least it's good to know that there's been some training and hopefully it will help them [Sarnia firefighters] in the future to save lives."
Sarnia Fire Training Safety Officer Jeremy Watts says the new owner of the building let the fire department use it in advance of demolition.
"We've been in here training, I believe, eight times now," says Watts. "What we've been doing up until this point is we fill the house up with smoke and let the guys go in and do search and rescue, again in a very controlled environment and it gives those guys a hands-on in the home experience."
When it comes to fighting fires, Watts says you can't beat training with the real thing.
"We were able to take six different crews through [different] scenarios and show them how the fire builds, show them how the smoke layers build up and the heat layers and take them through the whole process of that building to the point of ventilation and see what's actually happening in the fire before we get there," he says.
Watts says Habitat for Humanity donated some furniture to give it a more realistic feel.
"We're always looking for houses that we can create this partnership with," he says.
Smoke was visible but the public was told not to be alarmed.
The owner removed all vinyl siding and asphalt roofing material to minimize any environmental impact.
House burn continues on London Line as part of Sarnia Fire's training exercise. #SLont https://t.co/CRDSxI7hCy
— Melanie Irwin (@MIrwinCHOKNews) June 9, 2017
House burn now underway as part of live Sarnia Fire training exercise on London Line. #SLont https://t.co/6yo2jogh6E— Melanie Irwin (@MIrwinCHOKNews) June 9, 2017
.@SarniaFire Training Officer Jeremy Watts explains what crews are doing during a live fire training exercise on London Rd. #SLont pic.twitter.com/04R0GLG408
— Melanie Irwin (@MIrwinCHOKNews) June 9, 2017