Tangipahoa Parish declares Smitty's Roseland fire an emergency; council authorizes parish president to seek grants

Tangipahoa Parish Council on Aug. 25 unanimously adopted a resolution declaring the Aug. 21 Smitty's explosion and fire in Roseland an emergency and authorizing the parish president to request emergency funding to cover unbudgeted response costs.

Parish President Robbie Miller gave the council a timeline of the response and described the multi-agency effort to fight a large petroleum-product fire that continued through Friday and into Saturday. Miller said the fire prompted an evacuation area that was initially limited and then expanded to about a 1-mile radius for safety; he said responding agencies included Fire District 1, the parish emergency manager (Dawson), U.S. Fire & Pump (contracted fire-suppression specialists), the EPA, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Louisiana State Police HAZMAT teams.

Miller said U.S. Fire & Pump deployed long-distance pumping and foam systems, at one point running a 12-inch water line roughly a mile or more to draw river water. He added that rain affected the event and that responders were using booms on the Tangipahoa River to contain floating product; by the following morning crews had placed about 5,900 feet of boom at multiple locations. Miller said preliminary reports from a Louisiana Department of Health toxicologist found soot samples "below any danger levels," and that formal reports on soot and ongoing water testing would be posted online when available.

The resolution the council approved authorizes the parish president to pursue grant funding to cover emergency and unbudgeted costs tied to the Smitty's incident. Councilman Wells moved the addition of the emergency-resolution item to the agenda and the motion passed on a unanimous roll call. The resolution directed the parish president to request assistance and to pursue any available emergency funds.

Officials described limited environmental impacts to date: Miller reported isolated fish kills (two fish in one pond) and said DEQ teams were conducting airboat inspections of booms and the river. He warned that material from the site "looks terrible" on the water but noted that preliminary tests did not indicate levels requiring evacuation for health reasons; he urged residents to avoid ingesting material and to wash skin, vehicles and household surfaces if contaminated.

Miller and council members thanked local, state and federal responders and said the workforce commission and other state programs were assisting displaced Smitty employees. He said several residences remained inaccessible to crews because of hose lines and equipment, and that some properties were secondary homes. The council discussed continuing monitoring and public posting of laboratory results once formal reports were completed.

The council approved the emergency-resolution vote unanimously (10-0). Miller closed his remarks by thanking emergency responders and partner agencies and asked the public to monitor official parish and state websites for air- and water-testing postings.