If you see smoke—or even flames—in the area of Burke Road Sunday, don’t be alarmed.

The Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company is conducting a drill and training session at 70 Burke Road over the weekend. This includes a structure burn at the vacant house Sunday that will begin at 8 a.m. and last through mid-afternoon.

The drill provides firefighters with valuable experience in a safe and managed environment, according to the Fire Chief Brian Kovac.

“Training is very important to us,” he said. “It is our priority to train so we can give our best service.”

Prior to Sunday’s burn, firefighters will spend Saturday using the house as a classroom environment and conducting “wet line drills.”

Kovac added it’s rare for a home to be donated to the department for training. In the past, he’s had to turn down houses because they were too close to other residences.

In the case of Burke Road property, which is set back from the road, Kovac said the owner bought the ranch-style house for the land and had planned to demolish it. But first, he called the fire company to see if volunteers were interested in using the building for training.

“We said we’d be glad to have it,” Kovac said.

The chief said traffic would be blocked on Burke Road between Franklin Road and Walden Pond Lane Sunday during the burn.

For questions or concerns, call the fire company at 724-776-1196.