Breaking: Mistrial declared after jury awards $50M in landmark toxic gas case
Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

Watch Cobb firefighters burn a house down on purpose

Cobb County firefighters lit up a house in the 1800 block of Macland Woods Drive in Powder Springs on Nov. 1, 2017 for a training exercise.
By Ben Brasch
Nov 3, 2017

For those with office jobs, training usually means a guy with a “fun” print on his shirt motioning toward a PowerPoint.

For Cobb County firefighters, it means burning down someone’s house.

"There is nothing like training to fight fire than training with real fire," according to a video of the exercise posted to the county's Facebook page.

Watch metro Atlanta firefighters train using Six Flags water rider

The homeowner donated the two-story house built in 1971, according to Cobb property records, and firefighters torched the home — with its three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The house was located in the 1800 block of Macland Woods Drive in Powder Springs.

The department gave a heads-up to folks that the heavy smoke they saw billowing from the neighborhood was supposed to be there.

Like Cobb County News Now on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter

About the Author

Ben Brasch is the reporter tasked with keeping Fulton County government accountable. The Florida native moved to Atlanta for a job with The AJC. If there's something important to you going on in Fulton, he wants to know about it. Help him better metro Atlanta by dropping a line, anonymously or otherwise.

Follow Ben Brasch on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

An aerial photo shows some of the homes in Buckhead nestled in trees against part of the Atlanta skyline. Atlanta has adopted a goal of 50% canopy coverage, but the city’s tree cover has been short of that mark for years. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2021)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

As Atlanta’s new tree protection rules take shape, home builders push back

Atlanta officials indicated Thursday they are ready to move forward with a revamp of Atlanta’s tree protection rules, but developers are not pleased with the proposals.

Girl, 13, dies after tree falls on Atlanta home during heavy storms

A tree fell onto a home on Mims Street near Martin Luther King Jr. and Westview drives in southwest Atlanta on Saturday, according to a fire department spokesperson.

South Fulton mayor gives farewell address on city’s 8th anniversary

Hundreds gather for State of the City address and to hear khalid kamau's goodbye speech.

The Latest

Becton, Dickinson and Company and its subsidiary, C.R. Bard, face more than 400 lawsuits related to their use of a carcinogenic gas to sterilize medical equipment in Covington. (Alyssa Pointer/alyssa.pointer@ajc.com)

Mistrial declared after jury awards $50M in landmark toxic gas case

1h ago

City of Decatur plans festival during next year’s World Cup

He’s 7 and now pope of his Georgia Catholic school

Featured

Débora Rey and her husband Martín Verdi liked Trump's "get tough on undocumented immigrants" stance but they didn't think he would go after legal immigrants like their son. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

They voted for Trump and now their son is in ICE detention

A green card holder from Argentina is detained in South Georgia’s Stewart Detention Center. His parents, who voted for President Trump, now regret their choice.

He’s out: Man accused of trying to kidnap child at Cobb Walmart posts bail

A man accused of trying to snatch a 2-year-old boy from his mother’s arms at a busy Walmart was granted bond after spending 45 days in jail.

Kemp will not run for U.S. Senate, igniting a GOP scramble in Georgia race

The governor’s decision reshapes one of the nation’s top Senate contests against Democrat Jon Ossoff.