A Willowdale home was destroyed on Saturday night after a fire that began in the area of the garage spread to the home and tore through it, keeping firefighters busy for almost six hours.
The blaze began at around 8:56 p.m. when the garage of 611 Willowdale Blvd. caught on fire. The home’s residents were able to escape after an alert neighbor knocked on their door.
Though firefighters arrived on the scene just three minutes after getting the initial call, the fire traveled through a breezeway and to the home. The first engines on the scene sprayed down the fire and kept it from spreading to nearby houses.
“Containing the fire was extremely important because when you’re dealing with a fast-moving fire in a neighborhood like this, there is always the danger of several other homes catching fire,” Luling Fire Chief Pat Beard said. “In fact, my safety officer arrived on the scene five minutes after the initial call and the fire was coming out of the roof of the home because it was moving so rapidly. Our guys really did a great job of isolating the fire and keeping it away from nearby homes.”
Firefighters from Luling, Paradis and Hahnville isolated the fire and quickly brought it under control, but it wasn’t until 2:45 a.m. that the all clear was given.
“Right now, the fire is not considered suspicious, but it is still under investigation,” Beard said.
Some residents at the scene said that a vehicle in the garage exploded after catching fire, but Beard said that’s unlikely.
“I don’t think it exploded, but it may have looked like it did,” he said. “Some of the metals on a car get so hot that when you spray water on them it seems like they are exploding.
“I think that’s what people saw. They also could have heard the tires exploding.”
Beard said that 75 to 100 neighbors were on the street during the fire and offered firefighters water, Gatorade and ice.
“Their support was unbelievable to witness,” Beard said. “This really is a wonderful community and they really helped us.”
Beard said firefighters were able to go into the home when the fire reached a stable point to retrieve some of the family’s personal belongings and that he and other firefighters returned Sunday and saw neighbors helping the family remove more items from the home.
“It’s always nice to see neighbors lending a hand to help the family through this terrible experience,” he said.
The Ivory family did not want to comment on the ordeal but they are currently staying at a friend’s home.
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