This Saturday, the Luling Volunteer Fire Department celebrates 60 years of serving its community.
The LVFD will hold its annual installation of officers and awards ceremony on a night also commemorating its 60th anniversary. The LVFD was established in 1966.
“It’s a volunteer organization, and for any volunteer organization to stick around that long I think is a tribute to those people,” said Audrey Raziano, who has worked with the department for 20 years. “Obviously, the people who started it years ago … you naturally have people who have come in and out of the department over the years. Some leave and come back, some others don’t. But we have longevity, too.”
Raziano said the volunteer fire department has members who have long tenures ranging from 30 to 51 years – including Fire Chief Barry Minnich, who represents the latter number, a 51-year run.
“It’s a huge asset, especially to the younger firefighters coming in,” said Raziano. “To have so many who have been there and done that teaching the next generation is a really great thing.”
Operating out of four fire stations, the fire department provides service to Fire District #2, which encompasses the towns of Ama, Boutte and Luling.
Historically, the LVFD responds to between 500 and more than 600 incidents a year, including 611 in 2025.
Whether its the firefighters who have done the job for many years or relative newcomers, a constant is change. The job today is not the same as the job in 1966. Tactics have evolved, and landscapes have changed.
“The way you put out a fire 30 years ago might not be the way you put out a fire today,” Raziano said. “Because buildings are built different. Materials are different. Our training department, our training chief and training captain have done an excellent job as far as keeping up with the times and having tons of different trainings that teach you every aspect of firefighting.”
Minnich concurs with that.
“Back when I joined in 1975, we were very aggressive and it stayed that way through the 80s,” Minnich said. “In the 90s, we got a little passive about how we fought fires and dealt with other situations. Now, it’s come full circle. We’re very aggressive, using those techniques we used back when I started.”
Minnich experienced the fire department and its people first through a firefighter friend of his. He said it quickly made an impression on him – the tight-knit, family atmosphere the firefighters shared, as well as their collective commitment to the community.
“We were very small at the time. It was a family,” Minnich said. “All of the firemen, their wives, they’d have get togethers all the time … I was hooked, and I never left.”
The LVFD will debut a logo to commemorate 60 years.
The annual award winners will be announced as well, including Fire Line Officer of the Year – the winner of that award is chosen by his peers.
“That’s a big honor. The person who gets that award has really done an awesome job for his people, for his peers to recognize hm as the best of the best for that previous year,” Raziano said.
Raziano said that while there is much to celebrate with year 60 underway, it will also be very bittersweet for the department. On. Jan. 6, Deputy Chief James Tassin passed away. He was an integral part of the LVFD, serving his community for 34 years.
