We Didn't Start The Fire

The Chapel Hill Fire Department is taking advantage of the vacancy left by Hudson Belk by conducting training exercises at University Mall.

The fire department was given permission by University Mall officials to perform its exercises while that part of the building is vacant. The department began using the facility last week and will continue until construction begins for the building's next tenant.

Lynda McNutt Foster, president of McNutt & Associates Inc., said University Mall is not charging either the town or the department for use of the Belk property while it remains vacant.

"Basically, University Mall is allowing the fire department and at some point, the police department, to run training activities at the mall," McNutt said.

McNutt's group is a marketing firm employed by University Mall.

Chapel Hill Fire Chief Dan Jones said the opportunity to use the facility is extremely helpful in training firefighters.

"It is not often that we get to use such a large structure for our training exercises," he said.

Jones said finding sufficient places to train can be a challenge.

"The advantage of having training exercises here is we can practice search and rescues, firefighter escapes, and other exercises in a large facility."

But despite the rigors involved in training the firefighters, fire department and University Mall officials said they do not think the exercises will bother shoppers at the mall.

"There should be no effect on the mall since we will not be using actual fires or smoke machines in the training," Jones said.

He said the exercises still will be valuable to the crews. The firefighters will be working with wax paper taped inside their masks to hinder their vision.

"They will learn to find their way in and out of the building and also find their way to each other under those conditions," Jones said.

New purchases by the fire department also will be used in these exercises.

"We will practice using a new breathing apparatus and using thermal imaging devices for searches," Jones said.

The training exercises began last week and will continue throughout April.

"We will be doing these exercises Monday through Saturday after 1 p.m. and into the evening for the next month or so," Jones said.

But the fire department will soon have to share the space. The Chapel Hill Police Department eventually will be using the facility for K-9 training.

The former Hudson Belk building will remain vacant for at least the next month. Foster said the building does not currently have a tenant, but the mall expects an announcement by summer.

Foster said the mall sees the interaction as an opportunity to serve the town.

"We are letting them use the building to foster good community relations," she said.

Jones said he believes the exercises will train the firefighters to perform at their best when situations arise.

"The fire department will be better equipped to handle real situations from these training exercises."

The City Editor can be reached

at citydesk@unc.edu.