by Malcolm Butler
After going more than 10 months without a structure fire, the Ruston Fire Department responded to two within a span of approximately six hours Tuesday, successfully containing both blazes and preventing damage to neighboring residences.
The first fire occurred around 11:30 a.m. at a multiunit apartment building on East Line Avenue, while the second was reported around 5 p.m. at an unoccupied house on East Texas Avenue.
According to Ruston Fire Department Director of Emergency Medical Services David Wells, the quick response of firefighters helped prevent either blaze from spreading to adjacent residences.
The first incident also demonstrated the importance of working smoke detectors.
“A resident woke up to a smoke detector sounding, and his apartment was on fire,” Wells said. “So, true show of the smoke detector notifying the occupant that there was a fire. The fire was contained to the apartment of origin. Rapid response, rapid knockdown. Real win.”
The second fire occurred approximately five hours later at a vacant house on East Texas Avenue that had previously been damaged by fire last year.
“The house actually was a house that had burned last year, a fire we had fought the year prior,” Wells said. “So no occupants, not livable.”
Firefighters arriving from the department’s Central Station immediately focused on protecting a neighboring house from the flames.
“Fortunately, the engine from Central arrived on scene and was able to protect the house next door and provide knockdown protection for that house for the other engines showing up to be able to extinguish the fire,” Wells said.
Wells said protecting the neighboring residence was the first priority because of the intensity of the blaze.
“His primary thing was protect the house next door because that house, like I said, had already burned before and was on fire again,” Wells said.
Firefighters were able to contain the blaze to the vacant structure without allowing it to spread to the adjacent home.
The causes of both fires remain under investigation by the department’s Fire Prevention Bureau. The two incidents ended an extended stretch without a structure fire for the department, something Wells said made Tuesday’s activity particularly unusual.
“They haven’t had a fire since December the 30th of last year,” Wells said. “So they had almost hit a one year, one year without a structure fire.”
Wells praised firefighters for their efforts in handling both emergencies, calling the successful responses a positive reflection of the department’s preparation.
“They’re geared up now,” Wells said. “They’re doing right now is mopping up on that scene and getting those trucks back in order and ready just in case.”
