Residents were left without roofs over their heads after two homes were damaged by fires over the weekend in Barriere.
The Barriere Volunteer Fire Department (BVFD) received a call for the first blaze on Friday at approximately 12:53 p.m. Heavy smoke could be seen coming from the north side of town, up the highway.
According to fire chief Ashley Wohlgemuth, the house was fully engulfed in flames as crews arrived. On scene was the BVFD, Chu Chua Volunteer Fire Department and Barriere First Responders.
“We don’t know what the cause of the fire was,” said Wohlgemuth. “At this time, we are still looking into it.”
Residents were not home at the time of the fire.
“The house, some trees and one car were on fire,” said Wohlgemuth. “That makes it a little harder to pinpoint what started the fire, but everyone was safe.”
Emergency crews responded to a second fire on Saturday evening that was called in at approximately 5:07 p.m.
According to Wohlgemuth, when crews arrived, a shed and mobile home were on fire.
“Barriere First Responders were also onsite to look after the crews, as they battled the blaze for nine hours on Saturday,” said Wohlgemuth.
On Saturday, the residents were at home during the time of the fire. The homeowners did make it out safe.
Wohlgemuth said there is no suspicion to the blaze on Saturday but the department is actively investigating it.
“Although the roof did cave-in on Saturday, the residents were able to retrieve some of their belongings, some sentimental things to the homeowners,” said Wohlgemuth.
According to a post on the Barriere and Area Happenings Facebook group, AG Foods opened its doors after 6 p.m. to provide granola bars for the responders, the Knights Inn brought pizza and community members took over cases of water to hand out.
Following the fires, a GoFundMe was created for the victims of the Saturday night blaze. So far, more than $800 has been raised for the couple who lost their home.
According to the Facebook post, community members are donating basic items to the victims of the weekend fires - toiletries, clothes, pet items etc.
The Facebook post can be seen on the group Barriere and Area Happenings