Fire Department to Burn Vacant Homes

The Fire Department will conduct several controlled burns of vacant houses along Bristol Street, north of Edinger Avenue, Monday11 through Friday, a department spokesman said.

Firefighters will burn the houses as part of a study with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to determine how overcrowded living conditions affect the spread of fire in a home. Technicians for the institute will provide specialized data recording equipment to monitor the blaze, Deputy Fire Chief Wayne Bowman said.

The first burn may be done as early as Monday afternoon, depending on how quickly the measuring equipment is installed. All the burns will be done along the 1300 block of South Bristol, he said.