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Veolia loses building, $1 million in equipment in brush fire
Nov 28, 2008 (The Port Arthur News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
A controlled brush fire soon became out of control Wednesday afternoon on the Texas 73 bridge at Taylor Bayou.
Lee Wyble, a volunteer firefighter with the LaBelle-Fannett Volunteer Fire Department, said the blaze began at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.
It took the LFVFD, the Port Arthur Fire Department and Veolia Environmental Fire Department, using five trucks and 15 firefighters six hours to extinguish the fire.
"It burned slowly and then the burning got away to the plant (Veolia). It took a while to get to it (the fire) because of the swamps," he said.
The plant was not in danger, he said, but the company lost one of two storage buildings. The building destroyed contained $1 million worth of equipment.
Mitch Osborne, manager of the Veolia plant, said the building held pumps and motors and was totally consumed by fire. The company lost some of this equipment to Hurricane Ike and probably lost the rest to the fire.
"We're anxious to find out who stared the fire," Osborne said.
Wyble said the fields are being prepared for goose season by getting rid of vegetation -- some vegetation is 6 feet high as a result of Ike.
"The flames were 15 to 20 feet high. We just let it burn to us," he said.
Wyble said when burning brush, pay attention to the wind and weather direction, especially if it changes.
The fire is under investigation.
There was zero visibility from the smoke of the fire, but no wrecks or injuries were reported. Traffic was controlled by the Texas Department of Public Safety with back up by the Port Arthur Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office.
Also on Texas 73 near the bridge, an eight-car pile up resulted because of fog Thursday morning. There were no fatalities and only small injures reported. It took two hours for things to clear.
dball@panews.com
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