SLIDELL, La. — High winds aided in the destruction of a Slidell home during a fire Saturday morning, according to the St. Tammany Fire District #1.
Officials said the first alarm was called at about 8:40 after a neighbor witnessed smoke coming from the bottom of the 2,400 square foot raised home located on Davis Drive.
Firefighters responded to the fully engulfed home, four minutes after the call was made. Officials said the fire spread quickly due to the high winds at the time.
A water supply was set up at a dry hydrant at the intersection of Legendre Dr. and Peninsula Dr. fighters and extinguished the fire from the outside of the home because an interior attack would have been too dangerous, according to officials.
"Dry hydrants are installed and maintained by our fire district, in waterfront communities such as this, so that water can be drafted from a static water source," said St. Tammany Fire District #1.
With the help of neighboring districts and firefighters from Fire District #3 and Fire District 11, with a total of 17 units and 40 firefighters, the blaze was under control in 53 minutes.
No one was home at the time of the fire but the incident is currently under investigation.