Boise Fire plans large-scale training at shuttering outlet mall
If you see smoke, ladders and fire trucks at the former Boise outlet mall, don’t fear. It’s just the Boise Fire Department taking a rare opportunity to conduct a large-scale training operation.
The department announced that it would hold a two-week training during the last week of January and first week of February at the soon-to-be-empty Boise Factory Outlets buildings at 6954 S. Eisenman Road.
The training will include “live-fire scenarios that focus on commercial building fire tactics, including forcible entry, ventilation, roof operations, water supply, fire attack, and incident management,” the department said Monday in a news release.
“The opportunity to run the entire department through full-scale live fire scenarios in this type of building is rare,” Jeremy Potter, department training captain, said in the release. “This training will provide learning and experience that can take years on the job to acquire. As a growing, relatively young department, this real-world experience is invaluable.”
The last operating store at the mall, Eddie Bauer, plans to close its doors this Wednesday, Jan. 28, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting. That store and the other four mall buildings will be razed to make way for a Kenworth truck dealership that will take its place.
The semi-truck manufacturer expects to break ground in April and wrap up construction in late 2027.
