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Throughout the spring and fall, the Albany Fire Department conducts a training exercise that includes burning down abandoned houses.

In the Facebook story of the day, you wanted to know how the fire department acquires these homes.

The houses are offered to the fire department from the Albany Code Enforcement Department.

The Director of Albany's Code Enforcement Department, Mike Tilson, says by burning the houses. they are making the area safer. Tilson said "we took these into court and obtained demolition orders because they were open, vacant, unsecure, and they presented a danger to the community in this neighborhood."

The fire fighters get the opportunity to practice different techniques in a actual burning house. Fire investigators also benefit from the training exercise as they get the chance to study different burn patterns.