Hahnville Vol. Fire Dept

The Hahnville Volunteer Fire Department was organized in August 2, 1967 with 30 charter members. The fire department was known as the KTH (Killona, Taft, Hahnville) Volunteer Fire Department until April 16, 1979 when the name change to the Hahnville volunteer Fire Department due to Killona forming their own department.

The Fire Chief position and President position has changed over the years with many different people providing time and expertise to get the department to its current position. Listed are the past chief’s and President with the years served:

                                                              2010           Davis Nicholas

The department started out with a single 1946 Seagrave 500 gpm pumper which was purchased for the sum of $ 1000.  The truck was housed in personal sheds until a fire station could be built in 19XX utilizing the firefighters labor to erect. Funding for the department in the early days was very limited and acquired from fairs, door to door collections and can shakes on the highway. Much of the early progress was paid for by the fire fighters out of their own pockets.

Over the years the department has continued to grow and improve fire protection for the Hahnville area. In 19XX a sales tax was passed and again in 19XX a mileage was passed to fund fire protection. Fire protection requirements increased over the years requiring the department to grow with the community. Current the department has 3 Engines capable of each pumping 1250 gallons a minute, a Rescue/Salvage Unit, A hose tender carrying large diameter hose, a department vehicle, a fire Safety house and a f-350 truck to pull this unit. Today the annual budget is approximately $230,000 with the department responding to approximately 140 calls a year. The residents of Fire Protection District #3 enjoy a Class 3 rating as awarded by the Property Insurance of Louisiana (PIAL) as a result of the hard work the volunteers give each and every day.

Currently the department has 45 members, (15 of which are Medical First Responders) and provide medical and fire protection coverage to the Hahnville and Taft areas. Our district, Fire Protection District #3, encompasses about 20 square miles with a variety of different fire protection issues. The district contains 10 miles of the Mississippi River which has an average of 168 ships and 6,000 barges passing through our area daily carrying any chemical imaginable, a pipeline hub consisting of 1500 miles of pipes carrying all types of products from the gulf of Mexico, railways carrying an average of 600 railcars daily and an unlimited number of trucks transporting bulk chemicals and hazardous materials both in and out of the district. We also have the hazards associated with being in the flight path to the Louis Armstrong International Airport. Being in South Louisiana, with our parish located so close to the coast line, we also have to deal with natural emergencies created by Mother Nature such as hurricanes, tornados and flooding. Our coverage area also requires fire protection for 7 major heavy industries such as DOW Chemical, Occidental Chemical and Chemtura, Waterford 3 Nuclear Plant and Waterford 1 & 2 Electrical generating plants.