BOGALUSA, La. — More than 100 firefighters responded to a massive fire at a lumber facility in Bogalusa. No one was hurt, but the sawmill was damaged extensively.
Hood Industries is next door to Washington Parish Fire District 6, a volunteer department. Firefighters received the call about the fire around 10 p.m. Sunday.
Hood Industries is one of the biggest employers in the Bogalusa area.
“They very much are. There’s a bunch of people working there. My brother has been there 20 something years,” said Vicki Smith, who lives close to Hood Industries.
Washington Parish Fire District 6 Assistant Chief Daniel Touchstone said they arrived to find heavy smoke and fire coming from the sawmill area of the lumber facility.
“Found several hydraulic tanks, fuel tanks that were involved. The fire came through the second floor and started spreading,” Touchstone said.
About 15 fire department districts responded including St. Tammany and Pearl River.
“We had over 40 trucks and 100 firefighters on scene,” Touchstone said.
Touchstone said the fire was under control around 3 a.m. They remained on scene as the fire continued to rekindle until about 4 p.m. Monday.
A spokesperson with Hood Industries said they are unsure how the fire will impact production.
“They just added a new addition and got it up and running about two weeks ago. I know some of that was involved in the fire,” Touchstone said.
The facility employs 135 people and this has left many wondering where their jobs stand.
“Bogalusa is a poor town. They need their jobs,” Smith said.
Hood Industries released the following statement:
“We can confirm that a fire was contained to the sawmill area of our lumber facility located in Bogalusa, LA late last night. The fire was extinguished early this morning and the extent of the damage is still being assessed at this time. We are unsure of how this will impact production currently. We are very grateful that all of our employees are safe and accounted for. We appreciate the rapid response from the area fire departments and first responders. Updates will be sent to our employees about resuming operations as they become available.”
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