El Patio Motel to be burned for training starting Friday

A blighted building in Crescent City will be burned this week as part of a fire training session.

The former El Patio Motel at  655 H St., will burn during training that begins Friday and continues through the weekend.

Portions of I, H, 6th and 7th streets that surround the building  will be closed by 4 p.m. Friday until about mid-day on Sunday. Econowash Laundromat will remain open and accessible, however.

Fire departments from Del Norte, Humboldt and Curry counties will be involved, along with  several more from Central California.

“On Friday, we want to get rid of one of the buildings just to lower the workload,” said Fire Chief Steve Wakefield. “We’ll actually light a building on fire and respond to it like it was the real deal.”

The Crescent City Volunteer Fire Department and Crescent Fire Protect District will only man the hoses Friday, while the rest of the weekend will be dedicated to certifying firefighters from the rest of the participating departments, Wakefield said.

Firefighters will learn fire behavior, ventilation, fire hose and search and rescue tactics, said Ryan Wakefield, Pelican Bay Fire Department captain and the coordinator for the weekend’s training. Wakefield will be training to become a state-certified instructor.

The event will draw about 100 people participating in different capacities, from trainers to trainees,  he said.

“This is a real positive thing for the firefighters,” said Ryan Wakefield. “At the same time we get rid of an eyesore downtown.”

The city acquired the building in July with the intention demolishing it, said Eric Taylor, associate city planner.

“That property went into foreclosure; it sat on the market for a long time,” said Taylor. “It’s an ongoing effort by the city to remove blight.”

With the cleared space, other development opportunities will be possible, Taylor said.

“Hopefully, in the end we’ll get some new development, new property taxes and do good all the way around,” said Taylor.

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