Maurice Volunteer Fire Department working to meet challenges of growing community

MAURICE — A successful fundraiser held June 25 at Mendoza Ford in Maurice will help offset some of the costs for the Maurice Volunteer Fire Department, chief David Landry said, but there’s still more that the fire department needs to do in order to keep up with a rapidly growing community.
“Mendoza and surrounding businesses and community made this thing a huge success,” Landry said of the Mendoza Independence Day Celebration that raised funds for the fire department and the Maurice Police Department. “The public turnout was phenomenal like it normally is. Mendoza was on point getting everything scheduled and organized, the fireworks display, the whole nine yards. It was tremendous.”
This year’s event helped out two other volunteer fire departments and two other police departments in addition to Maurice’s, said Landry, 37. A full-time firefighter with the Abbeville Fire Department for nearly 18 years, Landry has been fire chief in Maurice for a year and a half. He’s been with the Maurice Volunteer Fire Department for nearly 20 years.
The Maurice VFD will be upgrading its air compressor, thanks to the Abbeville Fire Department. Both the Maurice and Abbeville fire departments had applied for a grant for a new compressor, and when Abbeville received the grant, Landry asked Abbeville Fire Chief Jude Mire what was going to be done with the old air compressor.
“I asked if we could possibly get it, and the city was generous enough to donate it to the (Maurice) fire department,” Landry said.
The air compressors are used to fill the air tanks used in Self Contained Breathing Apparatus systems, the air packs that firefighters wear on their backs when fighting fires. Landry said the current 2216 psi air compressor fills air tanks that last 30 minutes when firefighters are working in a structure fire. The new 4500 psi bottles would allow for increased work time inside structures, allowing firefighters to be more productive.
“That’s going to be a big aspect for us, because with us growing, we’re going to have to eventually go to 4,500 bottles, which the cascade system we have now is not compatible with, so they helped us be able to grow into the growth of our area,” he said.
The Maurice fire department also is hoping to acquire a ladder truck with the help of a grant that the town has applied for. A previous try for the grant was unsuccessful as the town was still classified as a village at the time, but with the growth in population in the 2020 census elevating Maurice to town status, Landry is hopeful this application will be successful. A 1995 grant application from the town helped purchase one of the fire department’s pumper trucks.
“The town of Maurice is growing at an unbelievable rate,” he said. “They agreed to apply for the grant and help us pay the 10 percent (matching funds) and all the things we need for that particular unit. Right now Maurice Fire Department has a 45-foot extension ladder, which is sufficient to help the residents of Maurice inside and outside of the town keep their (insurance) rates as low as they can. The (Property Insurance Association of Louisiana) requires us to have some type of what they classify as an aerial device, and that 45-foot ladder was sufficient for the last few years. We were told that if we do not get it (a new ladder truck), that 45-foot ladder will not be compliant.”
The main issue Landry sees facing the town’s fire department is the need for more firefighters.
“No. 1 right off the top is manpower,” he said. “Like every other department in the parish, we’re facing manpower shortages.”
It’s often hard for people with full-time jobs to respond quickly to emergency calls during work hours. That can be an issue with the PIL, which is the rating organization that dictates homeowner insurance rates.
“They require us to have certain things in certain spots,” Landry said. “So for us, we have to look at potentially getting a second (fire) station. We have to have certain manpower (numbers) come out at certain calls. We have to have certain equipment come out. That’s a big thing for us because our guys are doing everything that they can, and we’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got.”
It boils down to funding, he said — adding a new ladder truck, or a new station, costs money. The town has property for a potential new fire station, but would have to fund building one. Manpower is another thing that costs money.
“Getting part-time people inside the town would help offset some of the manpower issues and also help people’s insurance ratings,” he said. “Over three-quarters of our active roster are certified Fire 1s, which is the basic requirement like we have in Abbeville. We would basically have part-time people sitting in the station Monday through Friday. We get a call, we get the help out to you quicker. We get the help there to you not just for fires, but for medical (emergencies), car wrecks, etc.”
The fire department also needs to find some permanent funding.
“I hate to say the word because most people don’t like it, but a tax for the Maurice Fire District, for the simple fact that we’re growing so fast that it’s going to have to come down to that,” he said.
The fire department is doing its best to help keep residents’ insurance rates down and their property as safe as the department can keep it.
“We’d like everybody to know that if they have any questions, feel free to just get with us on Facebook, or come by the fire station on a Monday night if they want to join, or have questions about how to join. We’re there every Monday unless it’s a holiday.”