Ascension Parish volunteer firefighters battle three large truck fires in Sorrento

Ascension Parish volunteer firefighters responded to three 18 wheelers burning at an area facility, Ascension Parish Fire District 1 Chair James LeBlanc reported.

Emergency crews from the Sorrento Volunteer Fire Department spotted the flames from the main fire station along John LeBlanc Boulevard in Sorrento about 1 a.m. Dec. 15, according to the report.

The St. Amant, 5th Ward, Geismar, 7th District and Galvez-Lake volunteer departments responded to the scene, along with the Sorrento emergency response teams and the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office Hazardous Materials Team.

Volunteers reported no injuries.

At the time of the report, the cause was believed to be a possible mechanical failure of one of the vehicles while it was parked.

Business operations were not affected while the teams were on scene for more than four hours, LeBlanc reported.

The firefighters were able to knock down the flames within 20 minutes of being on the scene, he added.

Responders, the hazardous materials team, and Louisiana DEQ remained at the location to monitor air quality and to make sure the fire was fully extinguished.

"I cannot begin to thank the Leaders of the Sorrento Volunteer Fire Department led by Fire Chief Jeremiah Erfle and Assistant Chiefs Jacob Hathcox and William Eddy," LeBlanc said in the news release.

"These fire lines officers along with several other fire line officers led these emergency response crews into this battle this morning for the protection of the Sorrento community and Ascension Parish. These are volunteers, who fought fire all night and then went to their regular jobs today," LeBlanc stated. "These volunteers preplan, and they train for these types of events, and I could not be prouder of their efforts for knocking this one out the park this morning. There were two other large rigs next to these three, that the volunteers were able to keep the flames away from."