BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Louisiana is still experiencing several wildfires, most notably the Tiger Island Fire in Beauregard Parish. The flames continue to spread even after scorching more than 30,000 acres in a rural part of northern Louisiana, and firefighters from across the state are stepping up to minimize the damage.
Scott Pourciau is a training officer for the Baton Rouge Fire Dept. Originally from Denham Springs, he first joined BRFD more than 20 years ago.
“At the time, my father in law was a firefighter,” Pourciau said. “He kind of got me interested in it.”
Although he’s responded to Hurricane Katrina, large flooding events and other disasters, the self-described “city guy” has never battled a wildfire. When a message was sent out across the department asking for volunteers to help smaller departments fight wildfires, Pourciau agreed.
“I personally stayed out there four days,” Pourciau said.
Pourciau said he and others from BRFD worked as relief for smaller departments. They also stood guard to react when flames approached property.
“If somebody called in a house fire or a fire was approaching their house, we’d go out there,” Pourciau said. “Basically, you’re watching for embers that could be getting to the house.”
Pourciau said his family had some nerves, but they were also excited to see him help with such a big endeavor.
“From what they’d seen in school, on the news or on Facebook, they were interested in it,” Pourciau said.
The fires are still burning, and another crew from BRFD was sent out after Pourciau’s returned. These hometown heroes know the damage could be much worse if they did not step in to help.
“We’re always ready and available to go out and help,” Pourciau said.
