PRESS RELEASE
To: NEWSROOM
For Immediate Release
Contact: Asst. Chief Brian Crawford: 673-6652 or cell: 455-2609

February 18, 2007 - Two-alarm fire destroys Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club

The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club completely destroyed

The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club and former Irish McNeal Gym, located in the 2900 block of Pershing Boulevard, was completely destroyed by an early morning fire that ripped through the Shreveport landmark long known for hosting an array of youth sporting events. Numerous calls were receive by Caddo 911 reporting a large fire at the site - the first was at 1:44 a.m. Fire crews from Fire Station 8, located near the same State Fair Grounds as the Club, responded the short distance to the building only to find that the fire had already consumed the entire structure and had broke through the roof.

A thick cloud of black smoke soon laid over the entire Fair Grounds, I-20 and the adjacent Queensborough neighborhood as flames shot several hundred feet into the night air. Fire Department incident commanders immediately called for a second alarm, which provide additional resources in the way of firefighters and trucks to fight to enormous fire. As portions of the roof and interior ceilings could be seen and heard falling in large blocks, fire commanders made the decision early to use a defensive (outside) attack plan to battle the blaze. “There was simply nothing to be gained by an interior attack, as the building was unoccupied and already in the advanced stages of collapse when the first crews arrived. Placing firefighters inside of the unsafe structure would have needlessly placed their lives at great risk.” The defensive attack focused on strategically placing firefighters operating large hose lines on all sides of the building as well as utilizing truck-ladder companies to attack the blaze from above.

More than 40 firefighters and 15 units were used to combat the fire. Firefighters finally brought the fire under control at 3:11 a.m. Companies will remain at the scene throughout the night and into the daylight extinguishing spot fires and sifting through the debris to salvage what little remains of the interior of the building. The focus will then be on the task of determining a cause. Fire Investigators were told by the Club’s Director, Eric Anderson that the facility was last used Friday night, for a basketball tournament, Anderson said the building was locked up and secured when he left around 8:15 p.m. that night. It is theorized that the common openness of the building led to the rapid spread of the fire and why it was not noticed earlier. There is a large gym area in the middle of the structure with two-story office and storage space on each end. No firefighters or civilians were injured during the incident. More details about the investigation will be forthcoming as they become available. ###