Abbeville's fire substation reopens

The oldest fire station in Abbeville will not see an extended break after all.
Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza announced Tuesday morning that the Abbeville Fire Department’s Hebert Substation No. 2 will reopen after a short closure. That station closed Monday, remaining so for 26 hours.
Piazza said early last week that the more than 50-year-old station, located on the west side of the Vermilion River, would close temporarily to help ease scheduling, among other issues. Problems with the contingency plan involving the two bridges in the city factored into the decision to reopen.
“It’s unfortunate that our plan to deal with bridge closures in conjunction with the temporary closure of the substation failed the first day,” Piazza said. “Safety of our citizens is always our number one concern. We are going to have to come up with an alternate plan. Bridge closures and temporary closures of fire substations are inevitable for various reasons.”
Abbeville Fire Chief Jude Mire said the station will remain in its standard operation, with one pumper truck and two fireman per shift. The station houses three shifts.
“Nothing is going to change,” Mire said Tuesday morning.
The plan to temporarily close the station drew some concern from citizens who live in the area around the station.
“I went and personally told one of them the news this morning,” Mire said.
That was Jane Barras.
“I cried,” Barras said. “It means a lot to me.”
Barras’ son, Beau, is a member of the Abbeville Fire Department. Barras said that did not factor into her concern.
“It’s a matter of the safety of the citizens on the west side of the river,” Barras said of her involvement. “It has nothing to do with my son being a fireman. He’s a fireman at the Main Station and the Maude Station.”
Mire said safety is always the concern. He reported last week that with the closure, a truck form the Main station would be sent to the west side anytime the Perry Bridge went up. That plan did not come together accordingly.
“Safety is the number one thing we are always thinking of,” Mire said.
Issues remain with the Hebert station. The truck currently housed there is the department’s spare truck. The 18-year-old truck that is normally there is having transmission work done. That, along with four fireman out on extended leave, factored into Piazza’s decision to initially test the temporary closure of the station.
“Fire stations are going to close from time to time due to repairs or other issues,” Piazza said. “We need to learn how to deal with that and what our plan is going to be in the future to make sure our citizens are secure.”
The topic was on the agenda for last night’s regular Abbeville City Council meeting. Barras said Tuesday morning that she and others who were to originally voice their concerns on record still planned to attend the meeting.
“We will go to show support and say thank you,” Barras said.