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According to the Washington Parish Fire District 6 Facebook page, at 21:55 (Sunday) night, we were toned out for smoke coming from the debarker unit at Hood Industry’s Saw Mill.

The post says that upon the arrival of of Service 1 and Engine 61 four minutes later, units encountered heavy fire conditions spreading rapidly throughout the Debarker unit. An all call was requested for all available fire departments in Washington Parish, according to the post. The fire was contained to immediate area around the debarker unit, the post says. We had over 40 fire apparatus, and over 100 firefighters on scene at the peak of the incident from Washington Parish, St. Tammany Parish, and Pearl River County, according to the post. Also on scene providing support was the Washington Parish Sheriffs Office, Bogalusa Police Department, Northshore EMS, and Louisiana State Fire Marshals Office, the post said.

“Our deputies are still active on this scene due to its size and complexity so we do not have anything to report relative to a possible cause at this time,” State Fire Marshal’s Office Public Affairs Director Ashley Rodrigue said on Tuesday around 12:30 p.m. “The ATF has also joined the investigation due to the fire’s size and complexity.”

“For perspective of where this fire occurred on the business property– there are multiple buildings but the building where the fire occurred is the literal sawmill where the process begins by turning the trees into lumber. The operation was not active at the time of the fire,” Rodrigue said.