Northern Door firefighters will have to find a different building to practice on after Sister Bay/Liberty Grove Fire Chief Chris Hecht and others ruled last week the former Val-A Motel in Ellison Bay would not be suitable for a control burn. The town of Liberty Grove recently closed on the property in efforts to redevelop the area for attainable housing. The buildings were going to be removed regardless, but it was just a matter of how. After inspecting the buildings and taking into account a number of factors including safety and its proximity to a nearby tree line, Hecht says it just was not going to work.

Hecht is unaware of a timeline for the removal of the buildings now that it has been determined they can not be used for training purposes. He added the importance of having opportunities like a control burn so area firefighters can further fine-tune their skills.