On anniversary of the tragedy, fire chief’s safety tips can help keep you & your loved ones safe
And chief Robert Lupe remembers the tragic, 2001 blaze well.
“The fire occured at 11:52 p.m. It was a horrible scene, the mother told us that she had just stepped next door to talk to her sister, and within a matter of a few moments her entire house was on fire. There were two little girls inside the house and one boy,” Lupe told the Herald-Guide.
He notes that the space heater was left in a back bedroom and ignited “something flammable.”
“This was an older wood framed house, without a central heater and the family was just trying to keep warm. I remember the night we responded to the call – it was freezing cold,” says Lupe, who coordinated with Hahnville’s Fire Chief Reggie Gaubert on the call.
Recalls Gaubert: “I remember the night so well because we had to go in and recover the bodies of the children.”
Gaubert tells the Herald-Guide that families should take these precautions when using space heaters:
-Place a space heater on a flat nonflammable surface.
-Never plug a space heater into an extension cord.
-Do not leave children or pets alone when operating a space heater.
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