A Covington-area home was heavily damaged by fire Thursday morning, and responding units from St. Tammany Fire District No. 12 were hampered in their response by large trees and other plants that made finding and accessing the home more difficult

At 11 minutes after midnight on Thursday morning, a woman called to report her home at 76460 Hwy. 1081 was on fire. The woman and her two adult sons were sleeping and were awakened by the smell of smoke. There was no smoke detector in the residence. All three occupants escaped without injury.

FD12 personnel arrived at the scene at 12:20 a.m. – 8 ½ minutes after the call. Arrival was delayed because the narrow driveway was bordered by a great deal of plant life; locating the entrance to the property and navigating fire response apparatus to the scene was somewhat difficult.

The fire was under control approximately 10 minutes after arrival, thanks to the efforts of 16 firefighters. Investigators believe the blaze was caused by improperly discarded smoking material.

The Red Cross was notified to assist the family.

“We’re glad this family escaped safely from the home, and there are lessons to be learned from this event,” said FD12 Chief Darrell Guilott. “Every home should have a smoke detector. The lack of one at this house could’ve allowed the fire to burn even longer and could have resulted in serious injury or death. Natural features that enhance the appearance of a home can also be dangerous. While lots of greenery for privacy or just for looks can a nice feature for a home, consider that obscuring your property or entryways can cost emergency responders valuable time, leading to greater damage or injury.”

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For more information, visit www.fd12.org, or find Fire District 12 on Facebook.

Media Contact:
James Hartman
james@jameshartman.net
504.458.4600

More than 40 firefighters from eight Northshore fire districts responded to a smoke alarm activation at a retirement home near Covington yesterday evening, evacuating the facility without serious incident before bringing a small electrical problem under control.

At 7:17 p.m. on Tuesday, an alarm company contacted the UniFire dispatch center to report an alarm activation at The Trace at Claiborne Hill, 19432 Crawford Road, a retirement home and assisted-living facility just outside Covington.  Units from Fire District 12 were on the scene in less than four minutes, discovering smoke in some hallways of the building.  Because of the nature of the facility, additional units were immediately dispatched and surrounding fire districts were asked to assist.

Fire Districts 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and the City of Covington Fire Department all responded, as did Acadian Ambulance personnel and Fire District 4 ambulances.  Covington Police and Sheriff’s Office deputies also responded to assist.  Emergency responders safely evacuated approximately 85 residents and employees of the facility, and EMS staff conducted triage on all evacuees.  There were no injuries.

Firefighters quickly identified the source of the smoke as an electrical problem in one of the building’s elevators and neutralized the danger. There were no flames, but investigators believe overheating electrical components caused the smoke.   At 8:22, the scene was declared under control.  Residents were returned to their homes.

A total of eight fire engine companies, four tankers, one ladder truck and 10 support vehicles responded from area agencies, with 47 total personnel.

“First and foremost, we’re glad the incident was relatively minor and that no one was injured,” said FD12 Deputy Chief Stephen Krentel.  “Had there been a severe fire, this had the potential to be a mass casualty incident with an extremely tragic outcome.  In addition to our sense of relief, we can add our pride in the way emergency response agencies collaborated to ensure a safe outcome.  Situations like this underscore the high level of cooperation fire districts and law enforcement display when the lives of citizens are in danger.  Mutual aid agreements are more than just paper or formality; when needed, emergency responders in St. Tammany Parish provide virtually seamless response, and all of us in fire service are very proud of that teamwork.”

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Media Contact:
James Hartman
james@jameshartman.net
504.458.4600

A four-week joint training exercise involving three St. Tammany Fire Protection Districts culminated Saturday with the controlled burning of a home near Covington.

Over the last month, firefighters from Districts 2, 12 and 13 used an abandoned home for training exercises involving tactical operations, search and rescue techniques, hose deployment, ventilation techniques, fire suppression, and fire origin and cause determination.  The home, at 75421 River Road, was donated to FD12 by Judy and Milous Holliday.

More than 90 firefighters participated in the exercises, and the controlled burn was completed on Aug. 3.  Click HERE for video of the home being consumed by fire.

“Ongoing training is vital to the safety of firefighters and to the public we serve,” said Dominick Bourgeois, chief of training at FD12.  “We are very thankful the Hollidays made this home available to us.  The people of all three fire districts that participated will be better served as a result.”

“We have other properties that have been donated that we’ll be using in coming weeks for similar exercises,” said FD12 Chief of Fire Prevention Kris Hines.  “Experiences like these are extraordinarily valuable for all of us in the fire service.”

For more information about FD12, visit www.FD12.org or find the agency at www.Facebook.com/STFD12.