Firefighters participate in a training Sunday in Center Township.

CENTER TWP — Crews of volunteer firefighters battled numerous blazes in a two-story house Sunday on North Duffy Road.

But unlike most house fires, no residents were displaced, no pets were in danger and no possessions were destroyed.

Fires were set intentionally in the vacant house and put out for training purposes — a way for firefighters to learn about how fires develop and practice working together.

“We are lighting small fires and the teams go through the stages of doing a 360 walkaround, locating the fire, getting the hose back to it and extinguishing it,” said Nathan Wulff, Butler County Fire Chief's Association secretary.

The structure fire training was one of seven classes firefighters participated in over the weekend as part of the fire chief's association's annual Fire School.

Many of the classes were staged at Butler County Community College's public safety training facility, while a group of 25 men and women spent Sunday running through different scenarios at a real house.

A vehicle rescue class was also held at Unionville Fire Hall. Twenty-five people participated in the structure fire exercise.

The township had planned to demolish the house anyway, so allowing the fire school to burn it down was a “win-win” that saved money for both parties, Wulff said.

A full story will appear in the Butler Eagle.