NEWPORT — The building that housed a supermarket and an antiques mall will get a training workout from fire and police before it is demolished to make way for the new $2 million branch of the Campbell County Public Library.

        The building, on Sixth Street across from Newport High School, was purchased by the library board last year and will probably be razed this summer. The building that will be erected in the same location replaces the Newport branch library at Fourth and Monmouth streets.

        “The asbestos has been removed from the building, and we've done some bulldozing to look at the (foundation) footers,” library board President Don Grosenbach said Tuesday. “We may be able to use those footers for construction of the new building.”

        Mr. Grosenbach said the Newport Fire Department has tentative plans to use the former supermarket for training. “They're talking about doing training inside, maybe using a smoke machine,” he said.

        The police department's SWAT unit may also do some training inside the one-story structure before it's demolished.

        Newport Fire Chief Larry Atwell said Tuesday the department might do some training, “especially with ventilation of the roof. We might pull down the walls and ceilings. There will be no burning.”

        He emphasized that the fire department “is always looking for hands-on type training. This is a good building for that.”

        The new library branch will be a two-level structure with about 27,000 square feet of space, compared to the historic old Carnegie building at Fourth and Monmouth, which has about 9,700 square feet.

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