BOISE — The usually dead Boise Factory Outlets saw a bustle of activity Monday as dozens of firefighters geared up for a special training. Firefighters cracked doors open, pierced inspection holes in the ceiling and hosed down fires in abandoned storefronts.

Serving as one last hurrah for the empty shopping center, the Boise Fire Department (BFD) was given the opportunity to utilize the empty buildings for practice burns. The mall is officially slated for demolition, marking an end to its decades-long history.

Current owner Kenworth Sales Co. will be demolishing the buildings to utilize the 25-acre plot for a semi-truck dealership and maintenance facility.

The Boise Factory Outlets are reminiscent of a different time. Before The Village at Meridian came about in 2013, residents associated outdoor shopping with this East Boise landmark.

The shopping center originally opened in 1993 right off Interstate 84 and has hosted the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Kitchen Collective, Vanity Fair and other reminders of that era.

It consists of five buildings all surrounding the central parking lot and is relatively isolated. Only a red water tower that reads “Boise Factory Outlets” is visible from the main road.

In recent years the outlet mall has been almost empty as the facility’s ownership swapped hands. In 2019 the shopping center only had four stores. As recently as 2022, then-owner Gardner Co. had plans to refurbish the outlet for mixed use, according to BoiseDev. While the outlet mall has bided its time, a period of renewal never came.

The buildings are set for demolition following the conclusion of Boise Fire’s training, likely in late February or early March.

Monday afternoon, smoke poured out of the previous Oshkosh B’Gosh storefront from a fire barely visible through the cloudy windows.

When a BFD station caught wind of the impending demolition, training Capt. Jeremy Potter said they reached out to Kenworth and inquired about temporarily utilizing the space.

“We’re super appreciative of Kenworth, who bought this land, and ESI, the contractor,” Potter said. “They’ve been really flexible with us to work out this time that we can train.”

It isn’t unusual for the team to train in a facility slated for demolition; however, it has been a decade since BFD had access to a commercial facility. They are typically offered residential homes.

Commercial buildings present unique challenges, Potter explained. Unlike a home with multiple windows that open, commercial buildings often only have a front and back entrance. The big open space also allows fires to grow more quickly, and the wider roof spans have a greater possibility of collapsing.

The fire department is already halfway through a two-week training schedule. Potter described this as a unique opportunity to fight fires in commercial buildings.

“We’ve been learning a lot,” Potter said. “Even more-experienced people in the fire department have maybe had a couple of fires in buildings like this.”

In some cases Potter said they are able to burn a building to the ground, presenting further opportunities for training and often saving the property owners demolition costs. Going out in a blaze of glory may be tempting, but the BFD has been limited due to the outlet mall’s proximity to the airport.

“Sometimes we can burn them down for (the property owners) and save them some demo costs,” Potter said.

Instead, BFD’s training has consisted of smaller fires from wood pallets and hay bales, typically four a day. The previous commercial spaces now smell like bonfires.

Unlike fixed training facilities the team is familiar with, opportunities like the mall force them to think on their feet. Approximately 300 of Boise’s firefighters will have trained at the outlet mall before its demolition.

Potter noted that the majority of the calls the fire department takes aren’t fires. He estimated that 80% of their responses are for EMS services and 10% for fires.

“The riskiest thing that we do, and probably one of the things we do the least, is actually go fight fires,” Potter said. “We train on everything, but we train on fire a lot.”

Those interested in the BFD’s acquired structures program can learn more at cityofboise.org/departments/fire/fire-operations/acquired-structure-program.

“We would love to have more buildings like this,” Potter said. “... If we can work out some time for us to train, it’s super valuable to us. Helps make us safer, helps make the community safer.”