Firefighters from the St. Amant & 7th Dist. Volunteer Fire Departments responded to a call reporting a house fire at 12398 Jim Babin Road at 06:38 a.m. on Tuesday morning January 9, 2007 with an elderly male trapped in the home with family members running around the burning structure trying to get to him.
St. Amant Chief Officer arrived on scene three minutes after dispatch to find heavy smoke and flames showing. Three Volunteer Firefighters from St. Amant and one Firefighter from 7th Dist. were able to break a bedroom window where the elderly home owner was last reported being scene. One St. Amant Firefighter was able to crawl in the window and feel around the burning room when the elderly man was located on the floor next to his bed not responding.
The Volunteer Firefighters were able to pull the elderly male from the burning structure where ground units from Acadian Ambulance were waiting. Acadian ground units transferred the elderly male to a waiting Air Med helicopter in an adjoining field where he was transported by air to a Baton Rouge Hospital with severe smoke inhalation.
The interior attack crew was able to extinguish the fire quickly after the elderly male was removed from the scene. "I'm so proud of the efforts of our Volunteer Firefighters, stated Chief Officer James E. LeBlanc of the St. Amant Department."
The elderly male that we saved today has been a very close friend of our fire department for years, stated LeBlanc. We have responded to several EMS calls on him in the past four to five years in reference to seizures that he has, stated LeBlanc.
Today was a perfect example of how firefighters across this Parish perform each day, and the citizens of this parish should be very proud of the service they provide, stated LeBlanc. We have a motto on the wall of our department and many departments live by it, and today lived out our motto, stated Chief LeBlanc.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends and neighbors" stated LeBlanc. Those Volunteer Firefighters took a risk to enter that burning home this morning and rescued our neighbor.
The fire is currently being investigated by the St. Amant Fire Department investigation crew and the Louisiana State Fire Marshals Office at the time of this report. We are leaning towards a candle burning in the hall way at this time, stated LeBlanc. Twenty Four Volunteer Firefighters and six apparatus responded to the call.
