A Burn To Learn
Astoria Development provides Hands-On Learning

An extraordinary training opportunity was presented to regional firefighters and arson inspectors just last week. A 35-acre development called Blue Ridge in Astoria, Oregon, was made available for firefighting practice, classroom time, set-burns and arson inspection situations involving up to 12 buildings of the property. Set fires burned as long as seven hours.
The development has been owned for the last 28 years by Duane Jeremiah, who was born in Portland and moved to Blue Ridge in 1972. Blue Ridge was originally constructed in 1942 as temporary wartime housing for the U.S. Navy, intended to last no more than 5 years.
When Jeremiah acquired the property it had 11 rental tenants and at one time since then had as many as 90 tenants occupying up to 40 buildings. Some of those structures, dubbed "boxcar buildings" due to their 20 foot by 100 foot shape, were involved in the burn. When asked what will happen to the development after the recent burn activity, Duane replied, "I'll clean up what's left over, take the chimneys down and go to Costco to buy a bunch of flower seeds to spread." LCB

Smoke = Fire:
Onlookers are participants in a controlled burn and learning experience last weekend at the Blue Ridge Development in Astoria. Up to 12 buildings will be burned over a period of time to provide firefighter and arson investigation training. Seldom do firefighters get this much experience at any one place. The burned buildings will make room for future development plans.

Back to LCB ONline Home Page

Back to LCB ONline May Cover Page

Your Monthly Coastal Business-to-Business News Magazine