[StBernard] Poydras fire claims lives of eight dogs

[Westley Annis]

Poydras fire claims lives of eight dogs
by The Times-Picayune 
Sunday January 20, 2008, 1:40 PM
By Valerie Faciane 
Staff writer 

Eight dogs -- a mother and her seven puppies -- died Saturday afternoon in a
fire that destroyed a FEMA trailer in Poydras, a St. Bernard Parish Fire
Department official said. 

Firefighters discovered the bodies of the dogs after the blaze at 1928 Suzi
Drive had been brought under control, Deputy Chief Glenn Ellis said. 


He said the fire department received the call at 3:04 p.m. and when
firefighters arrived the trailer was fully involved. It took about 10
minutes to bring the blaze under control, he said.

There were no other reported injuries, Ellis said, adding that the cause of
the fire is under investigation. It is not known if the residents of the
trailer were at home when the fire broke out.

Meanwhile, an unrelated fire last week that heavily damaged a multi-unit
storage facility in Violet appears to have been started by a homeless man,
Ellis said. 

The fire at 5829 E. St. Bernard Highway Thursday heavily damaged 10 of the
12 storage units, Ellis said. 

The fire department received the call at 7:10 a.m. and firefighters were
able to bring the blaze under control in about 40 minutes, said Ellis,
noting that it took another couple of hours for firefighters to take out all
the contents of the units to make sure the fire was snuffed. The units
contained everything imaginable, including clothing, furniture, lawn
equipment -- even a vehicle, Ellis said. 

The homeless man told authorities he had been sleeping in one of the units
and lit a fire to keep warm. When the fire got out of control, he left the
area and went to a nearby diner, where an ambulance was called to bring him
to University Hospital for treatment to an injury to his foot that appeared
to be a burn, Ellis said. 

The fire is under investigation, Ellis said.