BATON ROUGE — A fire broke out at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge Saturday morning after wood chips caught fire on a conveyor system used to load materials onto ships along the Mississippi River.
Firefighters with West Baton Rouge Fire and EMS responded just before noon with assistance from the Baton Rouge Fire Department.
The Port of Greater Baton Rouge is one of the busiest ports in the United States, serving as a major shipping hub where vessels from more than 30 countries move goods through the region each year.
“You know, the Mississippi is a busy waterway, and a lot of the ships that come in dock there to unload product,” said West Baton Rouge Fire and EMS spokesperson Mike Chustz. “A lot of the ships come in empty, and we load them here and then send them on their way.”
Officials say the fire started when wood chips ignited on a conveyor belt used to move materials from the yard onto barges and ships. Flames spread down the belt and toward the roof of a nearby warehouse before firefighters were able to contain the blaze.
“Looking at the whole magnitude of the situation we were lucky no one was injured up until this point,” Chustz said.
Firefighters also faced challenges reaching the flames because the conveyor system sits elevated above the ground.
“There was no walkway that took you straight to it, so you had to make access to it in different ways,” Chustz said.
Chustz said crews were already familiar with the facility and its fire protection systems after recent walkthroughs.
“We recently had a walk through of a new sprinkler system either had installed or they’re about to have installed. So we’re familiar with the operations out there,” he said.
The port regularly handles large amounts of material shipped through the region.
“A lot of it is grain, some type of grain, today it was wood chips,” Chustz said.
The fire caused significant damage to the conveyor system used to load those materials, which could slow some operations at the port.
“This loading system is pretty much damaged without repair, so it’s going to be a while to get that specific conveyor system working again,” Chustz said.
The Port of Greater Baton Rouge is also the northernmost deepwater port on the Mississippi River, meaning it is the farthest inland location capable of handling large ocean-going ships.
Chustz said the port plays a critical role in the region’s economy.
“It’s very important to the area. There are a lot of jobs there,” he said. “Millions of dollars a year impacts the local areas from business that’s done there.”
Officials say the fire has been contained and the exact cause remains under investigation.
