Residents of Grace and Cretin Halls were informed by email on Tuesday that the St. Paul Fire Department will conduct a training exercise from 9 a.m. until noon in the McCarthy Gym on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

Aaron Macke, director of Residence Life, sent an email at 10:19 a.m. informing students of the procedure.

“They often do this in facilities that are empty and ready for demolition,” Macke wrote.

“It provides a great training venue for them, and we have partnered with them in the past to help make this happen. Please know that you will see Fire Personnel in and out of McCarthy and may hear some of the training noise,” Macke wrote.

St. Thomas Director of Construction, John Silva, elaborated in an email sent at 11:10 a.m. and obtained by TommieMedia about why McCarthy was chosen.

“The arena project has created a unique opportunity for St Thomas to partner with SPFD and allow them to train on entry and extraction methods in a controlled environment. The rescue squad truck will be seen on campus during the training session,” Silva wrote.

Felipe Seronatto, a residential adviser in Cretin Hall, said he doesn’t feel like the training exercises will interfere with students’ daily routines.

“For me, the building will get taken down anyway,” Seronatto said. “It doesn’t make any difference.”

The gym is set to be demolished in March, according to the Lee & Penny Anderson Arena Construction Management Plan found on the St. Thomas Facilities Management website.

Owen Larson can be reached at lars6521@stthomas.edu.

Eli Bieker can be reached at biek1966@stthomas.edu.