It was a slightly chilly night on Nov. 6, with a light rain that kept many people snug inside their homes.

But on the Boothbay Common, lights and activity were everywhere as smoke poured from a house and firefighters from Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb and Southport all came together. Not to fight an actual fire this time, but for training.

“We don't get very many chances to train like this,” said Boothbay Fire Chief Dick Spofford. “When we do, we like to work together with all the peninsula departments and share the training.”

Since the building is close to other structures, Spofford said they chose not to set it on fire. The smoke, rather than being from a blaze, was produced by a smoke machine that was safe to breathe in; but, because they were training, the firefighters were still staying low to the ground and wearing breathing apparatuses inside the building as they would during a real fire.

The house belongs to Southport resident and Boothbay Harbor Country Club owner Paul Coulombe, who offered it to the fire departments for training. The focus this night was on search and rescue, which means finding people trapped and possibly unconscious inside a burning home.

“It's one of the hardest things firefighters do,” said Boothbay Captain Dave Pratt. “Search and rescue has two levels, one for a quick search and another which is very thorough, including checking behind chairs and inside closets.

“Crawling on the floor, looking for someone who may not be able to call out, keeping in contact with your group while battling smoke and fire — these are tough guys and it's still hard on them.”

A couple of surprise drills awaited the firefighters, including one where a firefighter was down and needed to be pulled from a window, and at one point when three teams were inside the building an emergency evacuation was called.

After the search and rescue drills, the fire departments practiced using ladders and cutting through the roof of a building to add ventilation. Some of the firefighters not participating in this exercise were discussing on the ground how important it was to know exactly where the fire was in a building, as venting the fire in the wrong spot could actually pull a blaze toward the firefighters and increase the danger.

Spofford said how much he appreciated the use of the house.

“It's vital for departments to have training like this,” he said. “You can tell someone what to do in a situation, but there is no substitute for hands-on experience like this.”