NORTHVILLE TWP. — That was no campfire burning April 13 at Maybury State Park.
Firefighters from three counties descended on the park for a daylong training session during which they burned the former park headquarters off Beck Road.
“This is an extremely valuable opportunity,” Northville Township fire chief Brent Siegel said. “This allows the guys to utilize all the best practices that they learn in the classroom in a real-life scenario.”
Crews from Northville Township, Northville, Novi, Plymouth Township, Salem Township, Ferndale and Detroit Metro Airport practiced donning their gear and entering the former office.
“Not only (do firefighters practice techniques), but it offers us the opportunity to work with our mutual aid departments that we don’t always get to train with,” Siegel said.
The two-story, brick building on the eastern side of the park, which once served as a home for doctors when the park was a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients, was the headquarters for the parks leadership for several decades. After a new office was built off Eight Mile in 2020, the old one sat vacant.
Park manager Traci Sincock said the state attempted to lease the space to a business or sell the building for removal from the property, but had no takers. After researching its historical value — it was built nearly 100 years ago — officials determined it didn’t have enough significance to keep. Sincock then reached out to the local fire department and offered it for training before the building is demolished, something expected to happen in the coming weeks.
“This is bittersweet,” she said. “It’s coming down in a couple of weeks anyway, so we said, ‘Why not offer this to the township?’ They’ve been phenomenal partners of ours.”
Firefighters initially set small fires were throughout the building, allowing them the opportunity to practice working in a smoky, unfamiliar building. Such experience is invaluable, said Northville Township firefighter Francis Dreslinski.
He said trainings at places like Schoolcraft College and elsewhere are good, but it’s important for firefighters to practice their skills in a new location.
“It’s getting you real-life, situational awareness,” he said. “We don’t always get to practice these things with real, live smoke: What’ll be like when it’s dark and you can’t really see, as well as feeling the heat. So it’s very critical and very important.”
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After training was complete, the departments stacked wood inside and set the structure ablaze, giving those commuting home from work along Beck Road quite the sight. It took a little time for the fire to get going, but eventually the building was engulfed in flames, burning at more than 2,000 degrees.
Sincock said it was a little sad to see the building burn, but she believes if it was beneficial at all to the local fire departments.
“If this training helps save one life because of this training, it’s worth it,” she said. “We’ve always been phenomenal partners with the township and this is just another example of that.”
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Contact reporter David Veselenak at dveselenak@hometownlife.com or 734-678-6728. Follow him on Twitter @davidveselenak.