PIERRE PART — A family narrowly escaped a fire that engulfed their camp late Saturday night in Pierre Part, according to officials. Around 11:35 p.m. on July 5, the Pierre Part Fire Department responded to a two-story structure on Eagle Point Drive near Lake Verret, which was already fully engulfed in flames when crews arrived.
Now, local fire officials are urging residents to have two ways out of any structure in case of a fire.
According to the camp owner, he heard an explosion and saw his Toyota Tundra truck on fire. A neighbor also reported hearing and seeing the explosion. Officials said the flames quickly spread from the burning vehicle to the two-story camp.
The man escaped by jumping from the elevated back porch and waited below as his wife helped their two children to safety. She dropped the children down to him, and he caught both before she jumped to safety herself.
The family received treatment on scene and was later transported to a nearby medical facility for further care.
Fire Chief Don Breaux said this marks the third time in the area that residents have had to jump from an upper porch or window to escape a burning structure.
According to Breaux, about half of the buildings in the area are camps and the other half are permanent homes. Roughly 90 percent of these structures have only one entrance or exit, typically a single staircase from ground level because they are built on pilings.
“In this event, like prior ones we’ve had, the stairway is on fire, so they can’t get out. So they have to jump off the balcony or porch,” Breaux explained.
He emphasized the importance of having a second means of escape in case of a fire.
“In fire prevention, we teach having two means to escape,” Breaux said. “If the first one is blocked and you can’t get out, you go through a window or other exit. In this case, you can’t do that because it’s up in the air. So you need to have two means to escape.”
For residents in two-story structures like those near Belle River, Breaux recommends installing an emergency escape ladder if building a second stairway isn’t feasible.
“We have one at the station that we do demos on if anyone wants to look at it,” he said. “The main thing is, you need to purchase one and have it in your home.”
A total of 31 firefighters responded to the blaze, including 19 firefighters and six medics from Pierre Part, six firefighters from Paincourtville, and one from the Belle River Fire Department.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office, Breaux said.
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