At approximately 7 AM on Sunday, August 15th, the Winn Parish Fire District 3 received their first structure fire call of what would turn out to be a very long day.
The Fire District would end up responding to three structure fires within approximately nine hours. “That’s the first time I can remember that we have ever responded to three structures fires within such a short time,” said Winn Parish Fire District 3 Fire Chief Harry Foster.
The first call was at approximately 7 AM in response to a kiln on fire at Winn Lumber on Thomas Mill Road. With the temperature outside reaching 93 degrees and the intense flames of the fire, firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion.
According to Chief Foster, Winnfield Fire Department assisted with their ladder truck. In addition, the cities of Olla, Tullos and Urania also sent water tanker trucks to help the District. “I would like to thank the Cities of Winnfield, Tullos, Urania and Olla for their assistance with the Winn Lumber fire. There just weren’t enough fire hydrants in Winn, and we greatly appreciated the extra water,” stated Foster.
As the District finished the call at Winn Lumber, the second structure call of the day was received at approximately 3 PM. The structure was a home in Calvin, LA. Already exhausted from the first fire, they had just worked for 8 hours; firefighters quickly began to suffer from heat exhaustion at the second fire. Calvin community members were seen trying to assist the firefighters with water as they laid out on the grass because they were overcome with heat.
At approximately 4 PM, the third structure fire call was received, which was also a home. Several firefighters left the Calvin fire to respond to the third structure fire of the day.
Their day didn’t end after all three fires were extinguished. Fire personnel still had to return to the station and clean their gear, which they finished around 7 PM Sunday.
“I would like to express how proud I am of our firefighters and our volunteer firefighters. They all went above and beyond on Sunday,” stated Chief Foster. “When we are stretched like this, it shows how much we need more volunteers; I’m just so proud of our team for their dedication,” said Foster.
If you are interested in becoming a Winn Fire District 3 volunteer, you can stop by the station located at 8920 LA-501 in Winnfield.
Pictured above: Winn Parish District 3 firefighters respond to a house fire in Calvin, LA
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WPFD3 responds to structure fire in Calvin -
Firefighter spraying water on structure on fire in Calvin -
Firefighter at structure fire in Calvin -
Community member in Calvin pour water on exhausted firefighter -
Exhausted firefighter is assisted -
Heat exhausted firefighters try to cool down -
WPFD3 Firefighters try to cool down while responding to structure fire in Calvin -
WPFD3 Firefighter at Winn Lumber structure fire -
Structure fire at Winn Lumber
