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Neighbor says afternoon fire could have been much worse

Posted at 6:15 PM, Dec 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-06 08:25:03-05

A Lafayette Parish house fire is under investigation.

It happened on Wadsworth Drive around 1:30 p.m. No one was home, but firefighters did rescue two cats.

Joshua Taylor saw smoke coming from the roof of his neighbor’s home and immediately called 911.

“I beat on the door several times to make sure no one was inside or sleeping inside the house,” Taylor said. “The fire department was here within five minutes.”

There are no fire hydrants on Wadsworth Drive, so neighbors say it was crucial departments respond with tanker trucks.

“We’re kind of a dark zone here of who is going to respond,” said Taylor.

Lafayette, Broussard, Youngsville and Milton responded to the fire. Alton Trahan with the Lafayette Fire Department said the fire was extinguished within 15 minutes.

“Fortunately, we have a city station that’s roughly a mile and a half from here,” Trahan said.

The majority of firefighters on the scene are volunteers. Trahan said the damage could have been worse depending on the time of day.

“This is actually in the parish, so the volunteers respond here,” said Trahan. “Some have to leave work in order to respond. As you’ve seen in the past few months, some are fortunate and some are not so fortunate.”