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Aesbestos found after fire training exercise
By Jim Cornelius

The charred remains of a house burned in a training exercise by the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District.

A recent fire training exercise in Sisters has raised concerns about environmental hazards.

Sisters firefighters intentionally burned a house at 461 S. Elm Street on May 6. According to the Department of Environmental Quality, there was aesbestos in the cement siding on one wall of the small structure.

Asbestos fibers pose a cancer risk if inhaled or ingested.

The Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District received certification in advance that all asbestos had been removed from the structure, according to Assistant Fire Chief Ken Enoch.

That is standard procedure in all burn-to-learn scenarios.

"We have the homeowner furnish us with documentation that all asbestos has been removed," Enoch said.

According to Frank Messina of the Department of Environmental Quality, the property was surveyed by Environmental Consulting and Investigation (ECI) of Bend, but the asbestos in the siding was apparently missed.

John Head of ECI said "it appears that the (aesbestos) siding was underneath other siding. There were several different kinds of siding on that house."

The aesbestos siding was hidden under the other layers, according to Head.

Since wood was visible in patches underneath the outer siding,, Head said, "I didn't see a need to rip off siding and look for other siding."

Head said an abatement team was to go to Sisters on Tuesday to to removethe aesbestos, which has been covered since it was found.

According to Messina, it is impossible to tell what level of risk was created.

"The possibility of release is always there when you carry out that kind of activity," Messina said. "It posed a risk when it was burned like that."

However, Messina noted, the heat of the fire turned the asbestos fibers to glass and the amount of material was small.

The aesbestos board at the site is stable "non-friable" material, according to Head.

The main danger from aesbestos is when "friable" material flakes apart and the fibers become airborne.

Enoch said that the firefighters who entered the building during the exercise wore self-contained breathing apparatus. Those outside did not. The level of risk to them is still under investigation, Enoch said.

The fire department always tries to control risks in exercises.

"There's always concern," Enoch said. "That's why we have the asbestos removed from the structure."

However, firefighters don't have that luxury when dealing with live emergencies. When a house goes up in flames for real, firefighters face a range of dangers from the toxins in smoke.

Enoch noted that a refrigerator was also left in the structure during beginning of the burn. Although it is not required by the Department of Safety Standards & Training regulations used by the fire district, Enoch makes it a practice to have appliances removed.

The refrigerator was overlooked.

"I was waiting for enough people to move the refrigerator and it got missed," Enoch said.

He had his firefighters remove the appliance after the first attack scenario was played out. The refrigerator was not burned.

Some local residents were upset that they were not informed in advance of the May 6 burn.

Enoch said that the building was on a corner lot with lots of space around it, so his staff didn't go door to door and alert the neighbors as they usually do.

"It's nice to notify the neighbors; it's something we like to do," Enoch said. "We didn't this time."

The fire district has conducted numerous burn-to-learn exercises this year.

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