Abandoned House Burned, Central Fire Department Responds

By Dave Freneaux

    On Sunday evening the Central Fire Department and several Sheriff's units responded to an apparent house fire on Joor Road just north of Hooper Road.  The fire turned out to be a contractor burning the wood from an old abandoned house after it was demolished using heavy equipment.  No one was injured and the fire was extinguished.  However, the incident was a potential danger to both neighboring homes and Central's Fire and Law Enforcement personnel.  The incident could have been avoided entirely had the EBR Parish Burn Ordinance been followed.

    Central, as a part of EBR Parish, is subject to the Parish Burn Ordinance which can be found by going to CentralFD.org and following the "Burn Ordinance" link under "News".  In summary, fires must be at least 1,000 feet from any structure other than that of the property owner and must be conducted only between 8AM and 5PM.  Sunday's fire failed to meet these requirements, resulting in the incident.

    Central Fire Chief Bill Porche shared that more injuries and fatalities occur in route to and from fire calls than happen on the scene.  In this case, the manpower used, the water consumed, damage to a driveway, and the cost of the manpower and equipment used all could have been avoided had the ordinance been followed.  In addition to following the letter of the ordinance, Chief Porche agrees that if the legal fire a citizen plans to light is likely to be large enough to draw attention, it would be good to call the fire station ahead of time at 261-2000 and make them aware of the burn.