Mandeville fires cause havoc

St. Tammany Fire District 4 had its work cut out for it Saturday with a trio of house fires in the Woodridge subdivision and another on Villere Street.

The Woodridge fires started just after 2 p.m. at 725 Woodridge Blvd. The crew arrived to find the home engulfed in flames, and, according to Assistant Chief Dan Haydel, it was clear the house could not be saved.

“We got there in about six minutes, and the flames were already through the roof,” said Haydel. “We had to concentrate our efforts on protecting the other two houses.”

The fire was contained in about 40 minutes, and two firefighters sustained injuries during the blaze. Isaac Jones had second-degree burns on his foot, while Gerard Cambre was affected by heat exhaustion.

Residents of all three homes were present at the time but were able to evacuate quickly before the fire spread.

Haydel said none of the homeowners appeared to have any clues as to what may have sparked the blaze. He estimated the damage to the home at 725 Woodridge at about $300,000, and he said it’s likely one of the other homes will have to be torn down, as the fire had quickly spread to the attic and caused severe damage there, as well.

Haydel guessed total damages to be in the vicinity of $750,000.

All three homes were raised buildings, which Haydel said helped the fire spread quickly from house to house.

“When a fire is on the ground level and inside a building, you have to wait for it to ventilate, to get from the interior to the exterior to properly fight it,” he said. “This fire started underneath the house, so it was already ventilated, and it had an endless supply of oxygen.”

Later that evening, Fire District 4 responded to a fire at 2726 Villere St., about five miles away. It started about 8:30 p.m. at the home of Rodney Boudreaux, co-chair of the committee to recall Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price.

Both fires are under investigation, but Haydel could not provide any additional details on the second fire, referring questions about the incident to the state fire marshal’s office. Investigators there could not be reached for comment.