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Amanda Butterfield ReportingHome Owner: "This is something I never anticipated could happen to us."
Lessons learned out of the ashes. David Horne watched the home he has lived in for 50 years go up in flames yesterday. Today the rubble was transformed into a classroom. Flames ripped through the home so quickly, firefighters had no chance to save the structure. Today, HazMat crews took over the scene, using the home as a training ground.
A group of students has been in the classroom for the past six weeks, but not today. Today they're suiting up and going in.
Tony, Student: "It's a perfect opportunity to practice what we've been taught in the last few weeks."
They're part of a Hazardous Material Specialist Program, and it just so happened that on their last week of training, this fire erupted.
Tony: "It doesn't very often happen while you're in class, so it's pretty neat."
David Horne: "This was a big surprise."
The owners were inside the house when the fire started in the garage. It built up so much pressure, it blew the garage door off.
David Horne: "There was a bang, and it felt like an earthquake, the house shook."
Then the flames went up the house, into the attic.
David Horne: "It was unstoppable by the time we realized there was anything wrong. We had a lot of wonderful art here I'm afraid is gone."
Damage is at least half a million, but no one, including the dog, was hurt.
David Horne: "Well, life goes on. You keep going and do what you need to do."
And what this group needs to do is get in the house and complete what their advisor has assigned them to:
Tony: "Just as a practice, test those chemicals, see if what we've learned we can apply and get results looking for."
While they're testing for chemicals, the Hornes have already poked their heads in, looking for anything worth salvaging, and they found one thing.
David Horne: "The first book she looked at was a classic called The Power of Positive Thinking."
Those firefighters are set to graduate from the program this week.
