Iota Fire Protection District of Acadia Parish

05/01/2026

From the desk of the Fire Chief:

Please Welcome Our New Fire Engine!!!

On April 20, the Iota Fire Protection District welcomed its newest member, Engine 2. Our firefighters, along with Boy Scout Troop 64 and citizens from our Fire District, were present to have her blessed, and “pushed in” so she was properly put in service!

She is a 2026 US Fire Apparatus fire engine, on a Freightliner M-112 chassis, with 1500 gallons of onboard water and a 2250 G.P.M. pump. We will make a post soon describing this trucks capabilities and inspiration to our community.

Many long hours went into the design and specifications of this truck, and it will be a fine addition to our fleet, and to our improved operational efficiency on emergency incidents. Our “Old” Engine 2, a 2013 Rosenbauer Freightliner fire engine, has been sold to a fire department in West Virginia.

We would like to thank our Fire District Board of Commissioners for fiscally managing our funds to be capable of this purchase, and our firefighting staff for continuing to strive towards professionalism and their dedication to public service. Lastly, we would like to thank the citizens of our Fire District, without your continued support we would not be able to strive towards being a beacon of hope for those in need.

From our continuous training mantra, our fire and rescue response, and our commitment to public service, you make it all worth while. Thank you for believing in us, supporting us, and allowing us to be YOUR 1st responders!

David Douget
Fire Chief

04/23/2026

A great opportunity for training!

Registration is LIVE!!!

Click the link to register!!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/central-acadiana-firefighter-symposuim-tickets-1987331995496?aff=oddtdtcreator

03/09/2026

BURN BAN LIFTED - Please Use Caution When Burning Outdoor.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: 3/9/2026

NEWS RELEASE

ACADIA PARISH BURN BAN RESCINDED

The Acadia Parish Police Jury, in conjunction with fire service leaders throughout Acadia Parish, are rescinding the parish burn ban put in place during the areas recent fire danger conditions. The lifting of the order is effective march 9, 2026 at 12 p.m.

However, state laws prohibit the burning of unnatural products (housing materials, plastics, trash, etc) and only allows for natural products from the property (limbs, grass, etc). It also places whoever burns liable for damages to neighboring properties. Whoever is conducting burns must also stay with the burning material for the duration of the burn, or it will be treated as an unmanned, nuisance burn which will be extinguished and possibly cited for fines.

Please keep in mind current wind conditions and fire spread prevention. If fires are getting too out of hand, we have the option to reinstate the burn ban. Please be responsible and keep our community safe!!

03/03/2026

Tonight we had the pleasure of presenting 3 newly acquired certifications:

Hazmat Awareness: FF Tiffany Caruthers

Live Fire Instructor: AC Anthony Fontenot and Capt Mikeal Dartez

02/25/2026

The Iota Fire Protection District, along with other fire departments in Acadia parish, are selling sausage po'boy tickets to help raise funds to support ALL Acadia Parish Fire Departments. Monies raised will go to the Acadia Parish Firemen's Association, an association that is made up of all 15 fire departments in Acadia Parish.

This money will go towards projects such as parish wide communications, parish wide equipment purchases, parish wide grant opportunities, etc.

If purchased from an Iota FF, then you can pick up your dinners from the Iota Fire Station on Saturday, March 14, 2026. If you live near another fire station, please get tickets from them as the tickets are color coded and labeled for each community fire station. Tickets from an Iota FF can only be picked up from the Iota Fire Station.

If interested in supporting and purchasing, please comment/message this page or get with any of our firefighters.

We will message when we will be set up with our trucks for ease of purchase.

Thanks in advance!

02/04/2026

Tonight we hosted certification written testing through Feta. And we'd like to give a shout out to our folks who all passed their tests.

- 1st Assistant Chief Anthony Fontenot, Live Fire Instructor
- Captain/EMT Mikeal Dartez, Live Fire Instructor
- Captain/EMT Charles Feazell, Live Fire Instructor
- FF/Paramedic Tiffany Caruthers, Hazmat Awareness

These 4 put in a lot of time and effort to learn and study the last few weeks to get to this point. Join us in congratulating them!

02/01/2026

Thursday night, Friday night, and today, we hosted FETA-Louisiana Fire and Emergency Training Academy's "Live Fire Instructor" course. This is a 16 hour course designed for experienced FFs and instructors to learn how to function in instructor roles during live fire training. Prerequisites to register for this course included Firefighter II and Instructor I certifications.

In total, 14 students were in attendance from area depts, with 4 of those being some of our own. The other 10 came from Branch Fire, Mire Fire, Rayne Fire, Ville Platte Fire, Acadia/Evangeline Fire (Basile), CSAFPD #11, Jennings Fire, St. Landry Fire District #6, and Parks Fire.

All 14 students completed the course and passed their skill evaluations. The majority will use the remainder of their weekend to study to take the written exam next week. Wish them all luck!

Big thank you to Andrew Degenhardt with Feta for making this class happen. Bigger thanks to those 14 students for making the class what it was.

This closed out a very busy month for us, with our folks earning 389 hours of training in January.

01/27/2026

It's been a bit since we've shared some training pics with everyone. So here's a few from tonight's training.

If yall didn't know, it's a tad chilly outside 🥶 so we brought our training in the truck bays, where 45-50 degrees felt like summer compared to outside.

We got to try out our freshly built "rat maze" prop. Remember the small hand held game that you have to tilt around to get that tiny ball from one end to the other? Same premise, except our's is full sized. Firefighters like fun things 🤷🏼‍♂️

Firefighters used lifting air bags and even an extrication spreader to lift and manipulate the board, while stabilizing with cribbing and wedges, all to get a golf ball from Point A to Point B. Not only did this focus on using the equipment, but also on team work and communications.

It was a fun night and a great job by all!

01/22/2026

🚨 Winter Weather Safety Alert 🚨
A winter storm is expected to impact South Louisiana. We want everyone to stay safe during this winter weather event. With multiple nights of below freezing temperatures expected, be sure to safely heat your home. Give space heaters space and plug them directly into outlets (no power strips), don't use your oven for heat, and check your carbon monoxide detectors.

Here are some critical safety tips to protect you and your family:

🏠 At Home:
Protect exposed pipes by wrapping them in insulation or towels. Let faucets drip to prevent freezing and bursting.
Keep space heaters at least 3 feet from anything flammable and never leave them unattended.
Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to ensure they’re working properly. Never heat you home with a gas stove or oven.

🌡️ Staying Warm:
Dress in layers and limit outdoor exposure to avoid hypothermia and frostbite.
Use generators safely:
Never run a generator indoors or in an enclosed space like a garage.
Place the generator at least 20 feet away from your home, with the exhaust pointed away from doors, windows, and vents.
Monitor for signs of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness, headache, nausea, or confusion.

🚗 On the Road:
Avoid driving if possible, as icy roads can be hazardous.
If you must travel, drive slowly, increase following distances, and pack an emergency kit with blankets, water, and a flashlight.

Your safety is our top priority! Share this post with your loved ones, and stay tuned for updates. If you experience an emergency, call 911 immediately.

Stay safe and warm!

01/14/2026

We would like to officially announce we have designed a new fire engine, and it is currently under construction!

This apparatus is the culmination of many, many hours from our administration, the fire district board, and our officers to build the specs for this unit. This truck will be a tremendous addition to our fleet!

We would like to thank US Fire Apparatus for their hospitality and professionalism through this process. We will post updates as this project comes further along.