BAINBRIDGE, Ga. (WTXL) - Three minutes, that's all it took for fire to fully engulf a home.
Luckily, this was part of training for the Bainbridge Public Safety Fire Department.
Every job needs training and Thursday morning was all about the Bainbridge Public Safety Fire Department and arson investigators burning down an abandoned home on Potter Street.
There were five different test burns, each a different way that an intentional fire can look like an accident.
The final test burn was the most dramatic. In just three minutes, the fire had spread through the old house, largely due to the exposed ceiling and open doors.
Though this fire spread quickly, Bainbridge Public Safety Fire Chief, Doyle Welch, says there are ways to slow the spread of a house fire.
"You want to stop that fire path, the flow of the fire. Keeping your doors shut will buy you extra time. It also depends on openness. If you've got windows open or doors open, that can give fire the oxygen it needs to grow," said Welch. "Like I said, if it's got the right conditions, it can spread through there in minutes."
Firefighters were standing by to make sure this fire didn't spread to the surrounding grass and homes.
After the house completely burned to the ground, all of the ash, rubble, tin, and any leftover debris was taken to the local landfill.
The Bainbridge Public Safety fire division has about five live fire trainings each year, though they usually take place in the cooler months.
