By Tim Dupont, Fire Chief

Saturday June 3, around 12:15 p.m., a fire broke out at the Jeff Davis Electric station on Fulton St. in Cameron. This is where the generators which are powered by LNG are located, providing electricity for Cameron and West Creole.

South Cameron Fire Dept., Cameron Sheriff Dep., Cameron EMS, Industrial Fire brigade along with Resources from Venture Global and OEP responded to the scene.

An evacuation of 1⁄2 mile from Fulton began shortly after fire was reported and was later increased to one mile, with Marshall St. shut down for safety.

Chemical was sprayed on the fire by Venture Global’s response team, but the fire was unable to be extinguished. The Industrial Fire Brigade and South Cameron Fire extinguished all fires except the tanker by around 5 p.m. South Cameron Fire was able to extinguish the tanker fire around 5:15 p.m.

Traffic was allowed to resume on Marshall St. thereafter

The evacuation order was lifted around 7 p.m. except for a quarter mile from site, with all evacuations being lifted at around 9:30 p.m.

The tank continued to vent LNG through the night and Sunday. The South Cameron Fire Dept. had four firefighters and fire trucks remain on scene until 3 p.m. Sunday, June 4, to monitor and extinguish debris fires.

Jeff Davis Electric along with their contractors worked around the clock to remove debris and reestablish electricity which was completed around 6 a.m. Monday, June 5.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.