The North Shore property on Orcas Island has been a hub of activity since it was acquired by the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank (Land Bank) and the San Juan Preservation Trust (SJPT) in 2022. An early assessment of the buildings made it clear that their removal would be necessary prior to opening the property to the public. In early 2023 the Land Bank and Orcas Island Fire & Rescue (OIF&R) began discussing the potential to use the old house in fire exercises. After concluding this approach would be beneficial to a partner organization and cost effective, Land Bank staff were excited to support OIF&R in conducting a live fire training as required by the State of Washington.
In addition to salvaging usable building materials and removing a functional solar array for installation elsewhere, the Land Bank hired a contractor to remove asbestos from the house in anticipation of demolition. Both organizations sought and received permits for the activity.
Hundreds of hours of search, rescue, forcible entry and other training in the building by OIF&R culminated in an all-day event on February 24, 2024, involving nearly all OIF&R staff and volunteer firefighters, including a large number of new recruits. They began with back-to-back live fire exercises and then ignited the entire structure in the afternoon in support of the Land Bank’s demolition goals.
The training event was a tremendous success. According to OIF&R staff, it provided a real-world opportunity to observe fire behavior in both old and ‘new’ construction simultaneously. Weather and site conditions were ideal, and there were no safety concerns. The fire effectively eliminated all flammable materials in the structure leaving only the concrete foundation for removal this summer. Land Bank staff anticipate re-purposing the crushed concrete from the foundation as fill during construction of a planned parking area and estimate that the exercise saved an estimated $70,000 in demolition, hauling and disposal costs. OIF&R also realized significant cost savings by holding the training on the island as opposed to at a mainland training facility.
Pending successful environmental permitting, the building footprint will be restored to a shallow depressional wetland as part of a broader effort to restore wetland and upland habitats. After a two-year process involving planning, permitting and multiple projects, the property will be opened as a new Land Bank preserve in late September. Although restoration work will continue for the next several years, the Land Bank anticipates that the preserve’s long awaited beach access will be a welcomed asset to the community.