Firefighters burn down house owned by Blacksburg police chief

A home owned by Blacksburg Police Chief Jamie Ham burned to the ground Thursday night and he was happy about it.

The home on East Cherokee Street had already been struck by fire once before, about four years ago, and was beyond repair. Ham subsequently bought the property, and another next to it, with plans to raze the two homes to hopefully make way for commercial development on the main route through town.

With the help of the Blacksburg Volunteer Fire Department, the previously burned home was reduced to just a foundation and fireplace in an about an hour.

"They wanted to practice (firefighting) and I wanted to get rid of the house," Ham said. "It's a good combination."

About 25 members of the volunteer fire department showed up in full gear Thursday evening to set the building on fire and gain extra knowledge on how to tackle firefighting.

Fire Chief Clay Greer said the exercise could be particularly valuable for the younger members of the department, who practiced extinguishment tactics from the exterior of the home.

Because the interior of the home already was severely damaged prior to the controlled burn, Greer said firefighters could not practice entry tactics.