When the demolition permit for the former home of Bonsai Bistro and MoMo Sushi Wok & Grill came to the desk of Bill Deruyter, he saw more than a request to tear down a building. 

The captain with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department saw an opportunity for training. 

“We love getting into those buildings,” he said Friday. “We can’t appreciate it enough.” 

Firefighters have been practicing drills and scenarios this week and will continue them next week at the structure between First and Second streets on Sherman Avenue. 

Deruyter called it “invaluable training” that saves lives. 

“It gets us the opportunity to get into a real structure,” he said. 

Through mutual-aid training, Coeur d’Alene firefighters and others from nearby fire districts are working on responses to situations such as a down firefighter, trying to find a victim in thick smoke, cutting through the roof and searching through rooms and around obstacles. 

On Friday, while wearing around 100 pounds of gear, they carried hoses into the building as smoke drifted from the doorway. 

Deruyter said in a real fire they will size up a building the best they can from the outside and develop a plan of attack for what could await them inside. 

“We practice for the worst-case scenario, and hopefully we never have to use those skills,” he said. 

Deruyter said the fire department gets a chance to review demolition permits. If a building is a good candidate for training, the contractor, owner and demo crew will be contacted to work out an agreement to allow firefighters to practice in it.

To avoid any panic or the public thinking there’s a real emergency, the fire department spread word via the media about a week in advance of their training and contacted area businesses. 

Deruyter said 64 Coeur d’Alene firefighters will participate in the training exercises.

“We can only simulate so much at our training facility,” he said. “It helps us out a lot.” 

The old Bonsai building has been vacant for nearly five years. It is scheduled to be demolished to make way for The Hagadone Corporation’s “Sherman Tower,” which will feature 139 rooms, a 6,000-square-foot restaurant with a seasonal rooftop bar and nearly 4,000 square feet of retail and office space.

Construction could begin next year, and it could open in the spring of 2027.

    A Kootenai County Fire and Rescue firefighter carries a hose during training on Friday in Coeur d'Alene.
  

    A Coeur d'Alene firefighter enters the old Bonsai Bistro building for training in Coeur d'Alene on Friday.
  

    Firefighters discuss responses to training scenarios in Coeur d'Alene on Friday.