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A proposal to temporarily shut down the East Houma Fire Station on Tunnel Boulevard and move its personnel and equipment to the currently closed East Park Fire Station was tabled by the Terrebonne Parish Council’s Budget and Finance Committee at its meeting last week.
Houma Fire Chief Todd Dufrene said local officials are concerned that the rerouting of vehicles from construction work to replace the Prospect Boulevard Bridge could cause traffic to increase in East Houma, impeding access for emergency vehicles.
Work on the bridge will begin after Jan. 1, according to the state Department of Transportation and Development. The work is expected to take around two years to finish.
However, Dufrene and Councilman Alvin Tillman, whose district contains the East Houma Fire Station, disputed the possibility of greater traffic. Both said they were opposed to transferring operations to the East Park station, which was closed earlier this decade as a cost-saving measure.
Council members said they were concerned about emergency vehicles having to use bridges crossing Bayou Terrebonne to serve the area covered by the Tunnel Boulevard station if it is closed. The East Park station, located on the corner of Park Avenue and Robert Street, is across the bayou from Tunnel Boulevard.
Dufrene said the state Department of Transportation and Development would coordinate the use of the Howard Avenue and Daigleville bridges, which open for boat traffic, so that one of the crossings is available at all times. The Houma Navigation Canal bridge and the Dularge Bridge are coordinated in that way, he said.
“With the Prospect (Boulevard) Bridge shut down, traffic will be horrendous. We will have serious challenges,” said Councilman Clayton Voisin, who stated he is opposed to closing the East Houma Fire Station.
“I’m not in favor of this,” Dufrene told the committee. “We don’t know how much of a problem we have. You’re just assuming we will have traffic. We can go around vehicles to get across bridges.”
“Regardless of traffic, it’s not high throughout all the day,” said Tillman, who offered the successful substitute motion tabling the resolution to close the station.
Councilman Johnny Pizzolatto was the only committee member voting against Tillman’s substitute motion. “We have to transfer this to the East Park station,” he said.
Pizzolatto pointed out that the distance from the East Park Fire Station to the Tunnel Boulevard station was 1.1 miles.
“The road goes both ways,” he said. “East Park can respond to Tunnel Boulevard.”
Pizzolatto also said the area currently covered by the East Houma Fire Station-which was built in 1974-could be served by the North Houma Fire Station on Legion Avenue west of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and a station at the Houma Air Base on Moffet Road.
The cost to reopen the East Park Fire Station would be minimal, Dufrene said.
Tillman read from a study conducted in 2002 that found the East Park Fire Station could be closed because it was located in overlapping districts.
Dufrene said the North Houma and East Houma stations were serving the East Park area. Every fire station covers an area a mile and a half in size, he said.
“To take benefits from one community and give it to another is not the way to do it,” Tillman said.
According to Dufrene, emergency calls from the East Park area average 10 to 12 a year. Total emergency calls annually for the Houma Fire Department average 700 to 800 annually.
Pizzolatto said houses in the East Park area are built close to one another, making them vulnerable to the spread of fire.
“I agree with Pizzolatto, but I don’t like the solution of taking from one to give to another. It will put a question mark on the (700) calls to help the 10 or 12,” said Councilman Kevin Voisin.
Councilwoman Teri Cavalier said she was leaning toward Pizzolatto’s view.
“Tillman has to defend his district,” she said. “My worry is that the bridges will be out. I would like to go with the committee idea.”
Cavalier said that East Houma is also served by the Village East Volunteer Fire Department, located on Development Street.
Clayton Voisin said the East Park Fire Station could have minimal operations while the Prospect Boulevard Bridge is shut down.
He asked Dufrene to report back to the parish council with proposals for the fire department to deal with traffic congestion.
Fire equipment operator Mark Stevenson (foreground) and firefighter Jack Plessola adjust equipment at the East Houma Fire Station. The Terrebonne Parish Council considered temporarily shutting down the station because of increased traffic expected from the Prospect Boulevard Bridge closure. * Photo by KYLE CARRIER
