lisbon – Firefighters completed three weeks of specialized training early Sunday morning when they burned the late Walter Huston’s farmhouse and barn on Route 196.

The buildings were next to Midtown Shopping Center. They were razed to make way for a new Aubuchon Hardware store.

While the burn was not publicized, about 100 spectators had lined up by 3:45 a.m. Sunday to watch firefighters burn the 150- by 50-foot, 2-story, wood-frame house and barn.

According to deputy fire Chief Mike Robitaille, the burn was the culmination of Lisbon Fire Department’s first rookie school.

Firefighters, including 15 new hires, spent a total of 780 hours over the past three weeks training in search and rescue, hose advancement, ladders, ventilation, fire attack and water supply drills.

Robitaille said they had calculated that it would take 25,000 gallons of water to control the burn, but with ideal weather conditions, less than 5,000 gallons were used.

“We certainly appreciate Aubuchon’s decision to donate the building to us for fire training. The community truly benefited from this; it offered extremely beneficial training for firefighters,” Robitaille said.

The burn was completed by 6 a.m. and most firefighters returned to the station, with the exception of those who were assigned to monitor the scene in the event of flare-ups.

Thirty-six Lisbon firefighters and six from Bowdoin participated in the exercise.