Staff Reporter

RESERVE – Fire crews from LaPlace and Reserve spent roughly an hour Monday afternoon fighting a pesky fire at a Reserve harboring facility along the Mississippi River.

Several storage containers belonging to Weber Marine Inc. of Reserve went up in flames just before 1 p.m. Monday, said District Fire Chief Spencer Chauvin. Chauvin said the material in the containers, coupled with a steady and strong wind, made tackling the blaze rather tricky.

Firefighters battle a blaze at Weber Marine Inc. on Monday afternoon. (Staff photo by Robin Shannon)

“Two of the containers were completely empty, but the two closest to the river held 55-gallon drums full of fuel and other plastics,” Chauvin said. “If it had just been something like wood, it wouldn’t have been as difficult.”

After fighting the flames for just over an hour, firemen finally fully extinguished the flames just after 2 p.m. Chauvin said his crew had to use what he called “class A foam” to smother the fire.

Investigators determined that the blaze began after employees at the Reserve marine facility ignited used pallets and a strong wind blew the fire out of control spreading it to the storage containers. A drum of synthetic oil also burst into flames. A crew from Acadian Ambulance service was called out to the scene, but no injuries were reported.

Representatives from Weber Marine Inc. declined to comment to questions about what happened.