ST. TAMMANY PARISH (August 27, 2023)- An elderly Folsom woman has died after being rescued from a brush fire that was discovered by a State Fire Marshal (SFM) deputy during proactive burn ban patrols.
Around 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 27, the deputy was traveling south on LA 25 in the Folsom area when he spotted a brush fire that had spread to a shed on a property in the 78000 block of the highway. At the same time the deputy pulled over to investigate, a volunteer firefighter did the same and called the fire into St. Tammany Fire District #5.
As crews began extinguishing the fire, an unconscious woman was discovered within the burned area of the property. She was taken to a New Orleans hospital in critical condition but later died. An autopsy will be conducted to determine an official cause of death. While the fire did spread onto a neighboring property, firefighters were able to contain the fire quickly and ultimately extinguish it completely.
Through this investigation, SFM deputies learned the woman was an 84-year-old resident of the home who is believed to have been actively burning a debris pile when unknown circumstances led her to fall into the fire.
A statewide burn ban has been in effect since August 7 but was updated on Friday, August 25 to remove all previous exceptions. Additional burn bans specific to removing exceptions for agricultural burning and prescribed burning were also issued on the 25th by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry and Governor John Bel Edwards.
Violation of these orders could result in criminal and/or civil penalties.
