Firefighting students from Cleveland Community College had a unique opportunity to experience real-life scenarios in a series of houses in Kings Mountain to prepare them for a career in fighting fires.

At a vacant house on Parkgrace Road in Kings Mountain on Aug. 9, cadets completed training, setting the building on fire and doing a controlled burn. The house is one of around 50 owned by Albemarle Corp. and slated for demolition. Some students participated in fire investigations. Fires are set in the home and extinguished, and the students go into the building to determine ignition points and causes.

The structures are being used for a variety of first responder training exercises before they're torn down.

Richard Carroll, fire protection program coordinator and instructor for Cleveland

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