By Town Crier Staff

An old farm house held over from Mountain View’s agricultural days disappeared from the streetscape on Ortega Avenue in a black cloud of smoke Friday after the owners asked firefighters to intentionally burn the structure down.

The dark, conical cloud could be seen in neighboring cities along the Peninsula for most of the afternoon.

Owners Edna and John Pear, who was born in the house, donated the home to the Mountain View Fire Department to use for a hands-on fire suppression training.

Department spokesman Lynn Brown said firefighters rarely have the opportunity to put out huge structural fires. Medical emergencies account for about 90 percent of all calls. Brown said about 100 firefighters nationally die each year in fire-related deaths.

The department conducts live-burns when the opportunity becomes available - if the applicant of a demolition permit agrees to have firefighters train on the site.

The department has held three such trainings since 1991, Brown said.