SNOHOMISH — Snohomish Fire District 4 will be conducting two days of live fire burns on two homes in the 300 block of Pine Avenue.
Their latest plan is to burn 317 Pine on April 9 and 325 Pine on April 10.
Fire District 4 is asking people to stay away. It will block off part of Pine Avenue for the training days.
The homes were thoroughly stripped of linoleum, carpet, asphalt shingles and more to prepare for burning,All buildings have asbestos removed.
The remainder of the building on the site will be demolished, Fire Chief Don Waller said.
Initially the public plan was to burn four residential houses. The commercial buildings of the former Steuber’s Distributing Co. site were never planned to be burnt.
Firefighters have been using the block for other fire training exercises such as running hoses and searching in buildings.
Firefighters will light the buildings at 9 a.m., extinguish them and continue lighting again until they are let to burn down in the afternoon.
The fire department said there is nothing to worry about regarding the discusisons of ground contamination on the site. “The live fire does not impact the ground around the houses,” Waller said.
“First and foremost, there is little to no risk because there is no contamination at the clean-up level. Secondly, no traces were even found near the homes where we are burning,” Waller said by email.
In mid-March, the district received a contamination report showing levels were below clean up thresholds (see story, page 1).
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency reviewed the burning plans and gave approval, from permit documents obtained by the Tribune.
The fire district notes it set set an erosion control plan and will be making sure no water run-off migrades to the Pilchuck River.
A frequently asked questions web page is at www.snohomishfire.org/about-3-2
They’ve also been giving flyers door-to-door.
People can get a N-95 mask from the fire district ahead of the burns. Call 360-568-2141 or visit 1525 Ave. D during business hours.
317 Pine Ave. is a narrow dark brown house. 325 is a light green house. Both homes were built in 1902.
