SIOUX FALLS, S.D (KELO) Usually if a building in Sioux Falls is under construction, abandoned or being revitalized, most people stay away. But Sioux Falls Fire Rescue and others make use of these buildings.

When you see smoke coming from a building, it is a cause for alarm. Unless the Sioux Falls Fire Rescue is conducting their HOT training.

Division Chief Steve Fessler says Fire Rescue works alongside the City to find abandoned buildings like this to host their hands-on training (HOT).

“We’re able to come in and set it up to do like some real-life search and rescue type training, or fire training or something like that, where the crews just are able to come in, do a quick training and then break down and go back into service,” said Steve Fessler, Division Chief.

These trainings include setting off smoke bombs to simulate a fire and running rescue scenarios.

“It is smoke-filled, it is dark, it’s hard to see, which is realistic. Along with just getting hands-on in the way that we’re pulling the hose or stretching the hose through the fire building, or the way that we’re doing our search inside the house for people,” said Logan Hoiland, station 3 firefighter.

The goal of these trainings is to be as prepared as possible for the real-life fires.

“Here if you make a mistake, it’s not not life or death, like it could be at a fire, whether it’s to us or to a civilian. So that truly just gives us that ability to master our craft so that when the time comes if we’re going to a true house fire, we are solid in what we’re doing and won’t make those mistakes,” Hoiland said.

The Sioux Falls Police Department and SWAT also worked with the City to use abandoned buildings for trainings.