May 27, 2001

PRESS RELEASE

To: Newsroom

For Immediate Release

Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Public Information Officer

Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2609, page: 675-2137

Fire Department responds to three fires and car accident that sends three to hospital

■ Start to holiday weekend not promising for firefighters

The Shreveport Fire has already had three fires in the past 12 hours, prompting officials to be concerned for the outlook of the remainder of the holiday weekend. The first fire call came in at 1:33 a.m. this morning for the report of a vacant house fire at 315 East 60^th. The Caddo Heights’ home, that the department had been to for another fire in recent weeks, had flames shooting from its roof when crews from the nearby Saint Vincent and 70^th Street Station arrived. Firefighters were able to confine the fire to the attic of the home where it had initiated. It was officially listed under control at 1:49 a.m. The cause appears to be arson, although the official determination is still under investigation

The second fire occurred in the Broadmoor neighborhood at 3799 Greenway Avenue at 8:37 a.m. this morning. Firefighters there said that an attached storage building containing a hot water heater had caught fire. Home owner Brian Horn, said that he was inside his home when he heard a popping sound. When Horn went to investigate, he found the building on fire. When firefighters arrived, the hot water had reached a point where it was spewing water from its top because of the excessive heat buildup. Fortunately, the water in turn doused the fire. Officials estimate the damage to the residence to be around $2,500. Combustible materials placed too close to the water heater are said to be the cause of the fire.

At 10:48 a.m. firefighters were called out to a building fire at Line Avenue and Olive Street. When crews arrived, smoke was coming from a sub-basement floor of a two-story vacant building across the street from the Northwestern Nursing School on Line Avenue. Carlos Saucedo was working next door at Snell Braces and Limbs when he heard the fire trucks coming. When he got outside, a motorist had pulled into the parking lot to call 911 and report the fire. Saucedo said the building on fire was vacant and that the owner kept it boarded up. The owner, Clint Snell, also owns two other adjacent buildings in the row. Fire crews found boards that normally covered the back entrance to the stucco and wood frame building torn away. When they entered the building, they found a wooden pallet or partial fence on fire in one of the basement rooms. The fire was under control at 11:03 a.m. Fire investigators have said the fire was intentionally set.

Firefighters were also busy with a major motor vehicle accident that sent three people to the hospital this morning. At 4:48 a.m. a sports car and pickup collided at the intersection of Mansfield Road and Jewella Avenue causing heavy damage to both vehicles. The pickup ended up in the ditch on its left driver’s side in front of Blockbuster Video. Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to free the passenger, 22 year old Stacy Hall, and driver, Clifford Rhodes, 21, both of Shreveport. Both were treated and transported with moderate but stable injuries to Louisiana State University Medical Center. In the other vehicle, two females and a male driver were evaluated by department paramedics, with only one, Jennifer Graves, 27, of Shreveport, being treated and transported to LSUMC for moderate injuries she sustained from the vehicle’s seatbelt and air bag. One of the vehicles appears to have run a red light at the intersection.

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