Fire destroys homes in Livingston Parish

• By FLORIDA PARISHES BUREAU
• Published: Oct 29, 2009 - UPDATED: 3:30 p.m.

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KILLIAN — Fire destroyed one home and damaged another at 8 a.m. today near the Tickfaw River. No one was injured. Firefighters battled the blaze for an hour before finally getting it under control, Springfield Fire Chief Brian Drury said. At 1 p.m., firefighters were still working to extinguish embers.

Renee Harrell of Henry Road was upstairs sleeping when the fire alarm in her home woke her, she said.

“I thought it was a false alarm,” Harrell said. “Until I saw the fire outside around the front door.”

Harrell said she went back upstairs to grab a few items before running to a neighbor’s house to call 911.

“It wasn’t a close call to me,” Harrell said. “I hate that I lost my house but I got out.”

Drury said the fire was one of the largest his department has battled recently. The fire also burned four boats, two personal water crafts, a jeep and a truck.

“Water luckily wasn’t an issue,” he said.

The Springfield Fire Department pumped water from the Tickfaw River to extinguish the blaze.

Drury said 42 firefighters from the City of Denham Springs, Collyell, Livingston Parish Fire Protection District No. 11, French Settlement, Hammond, Holden, Maurepas, the Town of Livingston, Ponchatoula, Sorrento, St. Amant and Walker helped fight the blaze.

Also assisting the Springfield Fire Department were the Livingston Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness, Acadian Ambulance and the Killian Police Department.

Just after 1 p.m., Drury was waiting for the Office of the State Fire Marshal to arrive to help determine the cause of the fire.