Live Fire Training Set for Wednesday

The Jackson Fire Department received final approval on Wednesday to burn a Jackson home for training.

The Kentucky Fire Commission gave its final approval to the proposed live-fire training event at 963 Highland Avenue, scheduled for Wednesday, April 8, 2026.  The training will begin at 4:00 p.m. and conclude by 10:00 p.m.

Fire Commission, Environmental Protection Cabinet, utility, and other officials have visited the site numerous times since the application was submitted several months ago to ensure that the planned training can be conducted safely and without issues for neighboring homeowners.

The Jackson Fire Department completed the final required steps at the former Turner/Scott home to green-light the event, including covering several holes and windows to guarantee better safety and training scenario conditions.

“This is a valuable training exercise,” Jackson Fire Chief Chase Deaton said on Monday.

Fire officials announced on Monday, April 6, via the Jackson Fire Department’s Facebook page, that access to the area during the training will be limited to fire personnel and that portions of Highland Avenue will be closed to traffic for the safety of firefighters and the public.  The department asked area residents to avoid the area.

The planned event will feature several rounds of “set fires” made from straw and pallets, used to create controlled blazes that produce heavy smoke and conditions firefighters will face during structure entries.  The conditions will allow firefighters to safely practice search and recovery, study fire behavior, tanker and pumper engine management, investigate burn patterns, and practice team fire suppression activities.

The home, recently purchased by the City of Jackson, will be razed at the conclusion of the training to make way for six new homes in the Turner Court housing development.

Every fire department in Breathitt County and several fire service partners from across the mountains have been invited to participate in the training.