Comcast releases information on Houma outage
December 31, 2022
Houma Times: Top 10 News Stories of 2022
December 31, 2022
On Sunday, December 25, 2022 at approximately 1042 hours, the St. John Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire in the 200 block of Sweet Grass Loop.
Upon arrival and conducting the initial scene size-up, fire department officials determined that there was a fire in the wall around one of the fireplaces inside the structure.
As Fire Department personnel were about to begin fire suppression operations, heavy black smoke suddenly exploded from inside the structure within seconds. Two possible causes for this event are a backdraft or a smoke explosion.
During this incident two St. John Firefighters, Firefighter Chris Winkler and Firefighter Bobby Rodrigue, were injured and transported to a local hospital for medical treatment. Both firefighters were then transported to University Medical Center in New Orleans.
Fire Department personnel were able to extinguish the fire and brought the incident under control at approximately 1600 hours.
During this incident a second alarm was called, and mutual aid was requested to Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department for manpower.
All occupants were able to escape the dwelling without any reported injuries.
The St. John Volunteer Fire Department would ask that you keep this family in your thoughts & prayers as they have experienced a very tragic incident and a major property loss as a result of the fire.
The St. John Fire Department would like to commend our dedicated volunteers for their professionalism & hard work for keeping our community safe.
We also would like to thank the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department and Acadian Ambulance for their assistance.
On Monday, December 26, 2022, Firefighter Chris Winkler was released from the hospital and is now at home with his family. We ask that you keep Chris and his family in your thoughts & prayers.
On Thursday, December 29, 2022, Firefighter Bobby Rodrigue was released from the hospital and the St. John Volunteer Fire Department escorted their brother home to his family. He underwent surgery and still has a long road to recovery. We ask that you keep Bobby and his family in your thoughts & prayers.
We would also like to thank the Thibodaux Police Department for their assistance in escorting Firefighter Bobby Rodrigue home.
The Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal was called to the scene and is investigating the incident. We would like to thank them for their assistance.
