Firefighters have spent quite a bit of time at 324 Front St. lately.

Before the property was demolished to make way for condos, the Marion Fire Department was able to use the building for training.

“The property owner offers it to the Fire Department for training,” Fire Chief Brian Jackvony said. “It’s a great opportunity for us, and one we don’t get all the time.”

Jackvony said the firefighters try not to do any major damage to the house because they don’t want it to be an eyesore, but they are able to get hands-on training they wouldn’t otherwise get.

“We go over construction techniques, talk about forcible entry, we secure doors, force doors open,” he said. “We put a ladder up to the roof because [the building] was coming down a few days later, so we used the ladder truck to ventilate the roof.”

This type of training isn’t always available to the department and provides a better opportunity to learn.

“We can watch videos, read the text books, but getting hands on is a little tougher,” Jackvony said. “When we’re offered that opportunity, hands-on training works best for us.”

Mattapoisett Fire Department has also done training in a home on Church Street awaiting demolition recently. On Jan. 11, firefighters practiced primary searches while in zero visibility conditions.

A primary search is a rapid, thorough search to determine the location of victims either before or during fire suppression, according to the fire department.

During each drill, two rescue mannequins were placed in the home, and firefighters had to go in and find them.