AGAWAM – Agawam firefighters  have the chance to practice specialized fire training in a real house before it is torn down.

Dunkin’ Donuts initially purchased the building, which is located at 779 Suffield St., as part of an Expansion and Traffic Improvement project geared toward their Suffield/Silver streets location. The purpose of the project is to improve the traffic flow within the doughnut shop’s congested parking lot by elongating the on-site stacking lane for the drive-thru window. Because Dunkin’ plans on demolishing the building in the near future, local franchisees Peter Martins, John Salema and Derek Salema agreed to lend the building to the Agawam Fire Department for “Specialized Fire Training” purposes. The Department is now allowed to use the interior of the house, as long as it doesn’t damage the outside structure, for its trainings until the building is demolished. The demolition date has not yet been set.

In public statement released to Reminder Publications, Peter Martins said he feels confident about donating the building to the Department.

“Since demolition of the building on the property is required, we felt that before doing so, we should offer it to the Agawam Fire Department to allow for ‘specialized training,” he said. “We believe that this will allow the Agawam Fire Department to provide their firefighters with an opportunity to receive valuable training, under real life conditions, in an actual residential setting.”

The Fire Department has been using the building since April, and practices a variety of specialized training, including: search-and-rescue techniques, which trains firefighters to find victims lost in smoke-filled environments or burning homes; hoseline advancement into different types of buildings; and rapid intervention training, which teachers firefighters how to rescue other injured firefighters on-scene. The department will not be setting fire to the building during these training sessions, but will be using non-toxic synthetic smoke to give the firefighters a taste of real-life conditions.

“We’re always grateful for individuals who want to donate structures for fire department training purposes,” said Agawam Fire Chief Alan Sirois. “It gets us out of a routine and allows us to encounter different challenges and work in different types of structures.”

When firefighters in the area don’t get a chance to practice in a donated building, such as the one provided by Dunkin’, they use a concrete “Burn House” at the Regional Firefighter Training Center in Springfield.

The chief added that the department is “happy” to use the building until it is demolished. 

As far as Dunkin’s Expansion and Traffic Improvement Project goes, the plan calls for obliterating the house to improve site access, extending the drive-thru lane, and moving access and egress lanes away from the intersection of Suffield and Silver streets to improve traffic flow.

Dunkin’ Donuts Community Liaison Paul Caron said he encourages others to consider donating buildings to institutions like the Agawam Fire Department.

“I know how valuable these types of opportunities are to fire departments, especially if it doesn’t cost the community anything,” he said. “If other people have a structure they are going to be demolishing for development, contact the local fire department. It saves the town money and gives the Department an opportunity for them to have specialized training.”