TO A POINT: Fire department needs to make policy changes

imagine driving towards your house and finding your vehicle in the midst of smoke. You see flames and your heart jumps into your throat. "Is my house on fire?" you ask yourself.
Lucky for me, mine wasn't. Instead it was the house across the street that was ablaze, one that had stood vacant for a few years, had been prepped for a fire and was being burned as a training exercise for the Cambridge Fire Department.
I can only hope that a fire across the street is the closest I ever get to my own home burning down. I don't consider myself a worrywart, but I couldn't stop the knots from forming in my stomach as I stood at my bedroom window and watched the sparks fly that night. The wind carried most of them south, but there were still several that came too close for comfort. I hoped the wind didn't change. I prayed it didn't get stronger. In the morning, I awoke to a yard full of black ashes.
There are a lot of things in the way when you burn a house in an older part of town. Obviously, there are the neighboring houses. There are power lines that drape close to those buildings. There are trees and bushes and fences.
As I stood there – half fascinated by the flames and half frightened for my home – I watched the local firemen hop into their trucks and drive away. I was stunned. Was there no one but me and the other neighbors watching this fire?
Yes, the walls had all fallen in by then - I hadn't gotten home that night until after 9 p.m. But the flames still rose four feet up out of the basement. I was startled by loud popping noises. Sparks flew out of the pine trees standing just a few feet from the ruins, and the wind carried them to a line of pine trees about 50 feet away. A power pole (which, of course, connected to the line and pole in my front yard) sat about five feet from the fire and was blackened by the blaze. I knew the heat coming out of the fire was still significant. And no one was there to babysit it?
Of course, I called the fire hall to find out what was going on. Now, I'm not a firefighter, and I haven't received the training they do, but I like to think I have some common sense. So I asked why they had left the blaze unattended. I was told it was because it no longer posed a threat as it had been "knocked down."
I can't leave a small campfire burning in my own backyard without the possibility of getting a ticket, and here was a much bigger fire left completely unattended. I just can't wrap my head around that being okay.
About 10 minutes later, a truck returned to the scene. I was able to fall asleep then, knowing there were trained eyes keeping track of that fire.
I've since brought my concerns to the mayor and fire chief. I hope the fire department considers making it a policy to not leave a fire until all flames are extinguished.
I also hope that they begin sending out letters to nearby property owners a week or so before a planned training exercise. Currently they knock on the doors of neighbors before starting the blaze, but then those (like myself) who weren't home at the time get missed.
Practice burns are obviously important as they provide needed, hands-on experience in a controlled environment. But when it comes to a fire, I don't think you should ever think you have it completely under control.