The Bayou Vista Fire Department was kept busy for more than six hours Saturday with a fire at the residence of Charles Landry and his family. The fire was reported around 7:44 a.m., and all units were not back in service until 2:07 p.m., Bayou Vista Volunteer Fire Chief Darryl Perry said. The home and its contents were a loss, and while the family escaped unharmed, their dog perished in the blaze, Perry said. The Berwick Volunteer Fire Department assisted in putting out the fire, the chief said. He said the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
The fire, at 1507 La. 182, was called in around 7:44 a.m., and upon firemen’s arrival, heavy fire and smoke were visible.
“The whole downstairs was engulfed,” upon arrival, BVV Fire Chief Darryl Perry, who lives a mere 500 feet from the burning home, said this morning.
He said the home was owned and occupied by Charles Landry. He said the family lost everything in the blaze.
A request for mutual aid was made to the Berwick Volunteer Fire Department to assist with the blaze.
To fight the fire, Perry said La. 182 had to be blocked off “for the better part of the time” the department was on scene, because the fire hydrant was across the street from the home.
“We had to fight a 29 mile an hour wind out of the north,” Perry said. “There was just nothing we were going to be able to do to save this house.”
The Landry family was able to escape the blaze, but a family pet, a dog, died in the fire.
“It was unbelievable,” Perry said. “I don’t know how these people got out.”
Perry said the cause of the fire, which he called “significant,” remains under investigation. However, he said that it appears to have started on one side of the house, possibly downstairs in a dining room area where an appliance may have been and then shot up into the attic and across the home.
The BVVFD responded with 18 firemen, two pumpers and a service unit, while Berwick brought eight firemen and a service truck.
No surrounding structures were damaged except the family’s car, Perry said, explaining that a piece of vinyl siding fell on it, causing minimal damage.
All units had left the scene by 2:07 p.m.
While a heater was not in use at this home at the time of the blaze, Perry urged those who use space heaters to keep them far enough away from any combustibles where they will not be knocked over.
He also urged that operators of these heaters read the instructions to ensure they know how to use them.
“If used properly, it’s ok but a lot of times they put it too close to the bed,” Perry said.
Post a Comment
