The Charleston Fire Department took part in fire investigation training Wednesday by setting fires in an Eastern building and putting them out.

Captain Mark Beabout said the Eastern building, located a block south of Lincoln Avenue at Ninth Street, was donated to the department for training and will be demolished as early as next week.

The building was occupied until the end of the spring semester and was used as a building service worker house. The building was used for supply storage and housed a couple of offices.

Timothy Zimmer, the director of facilities, planning and management, said in a press release that once the building is demolished, it will be used as a green space for some time.

The fire department trained in the building Monday through Wednesday.

During the training session, the fire department set controlled fires in the building and had their crews put them out while the process was recorded. The crews are getting a full practice run of putting out fires started from different manners, Beabout said.

“When we have a fire, fire crews tear everything out to put the fire out,” he said.

The crews will also try to find the origin of fire and the cause, which they do not normally do. “It will help firemen know what to look or and what not to tear out,” Beabout said.

The fire investigator will find the origin and cause of the fire but if crews know what to look for, it can make the fire investigator’s job easier, he said.

During the normal procedure, fire crews will tear everything out of a building and hose it down.

For the training, they have to leave everything as intact as possibly for the next crew to come in, Beabout said.

On Saturday, a fire investigation training session will be hosted at the building where fire investigators can figure out the cause and origin of the fires.

Fire Chief Pat Goodwin said five to six fire departments will evaluate a room by digging it out and find the cause and origin.

They will then head back to the classroom and look at the recordings to see how they did, he said.

Goodwin said the class is for experienced fire investigators who need more hours for their fire investigator training.

Amanda Wilkinson can be reached at 581-2812 or akwilkinson@eiu.edu.