The Choctaw Volunteer Fire Department would like to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Independence Day.

We would also like to say ‘thank you’ to the men and women of our Armed Forces who fight courageously for the freedoms that we all enjoy today.

America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. -- Former President Harry S. Truman

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads in our community, and in communities near and far.

Father’s Day; the annual holiday in June, when we thank the man in our lives that has cared for us, mentored us and made sure we were safe.

In the fire service, we often think of ourselves as a large family. So it’s not uncommon to hear us refer to another firefighter as a father figure. Often, we are referring to someone from the early years of our service, a training instructor, a company officer or senior firefighter that mentored us years earlier, an individual who took some time to teach us the complexity of the trade.

This year, we remember and we thank our fire service fathers – those individuals who provided us some mentoring and training in the early stages of our service.

Many of those individuals continue to provide mentorship and guidance to us to this very day. We thank our mentors who challenge us and help us grow in our service to our community.

This evening, on the eve of Memorial Day — the day on which we honor our military veterans who gave their lives in defense of our country — our prayers are with the family of Louisiana State Trooper George Baker.

Today, Trooper Baker succumbed to injuries sustained in the performance of his duties. Trooper Baker sustained severe injuries during the early morning hours of Wednesday, 20 May 2020. Baker was a thirty-three-year-old, ten-year law enforcement and military veteran, a devoted husband, and a proud father.

Please click HERE to view the original press release from Louisiana State Police.

Let’s end today with a little education!

By its nature, most hand sanitizer is alcohol-based and therefore flammable. Keeping it in your car during hot weather, exposing it to sun causing magnification of light through the bottle — and particularly being next to open flame while smoking in vehicles or grilling while enjoying this weekend — can lead to disaster.

Please respect the possibilities and be fire safe.

As global concern about the current COVID-19 outbreak grows, we’re doing our best to keep everyone healthy and safe while also minimizing disruptions to our day-to-day operations.

As such, all weekly BINGO games have been cancelled UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

We have also suspended all facility rentals for the duration of this situation.
​
We’re closely monitoring the situation, and we know that misinformation and fear can spread more virulently than the virus itself. We want to discourage false information from circulating. If you’re looking for trusted, up-to-date information, we recommend visiting the specific Coronavirus websites of the Centers for Disease Control or the World Health Organization.

We understand the current outbreak is worrying, and we wanted to take a moment to share the ways we can all help keep the our community safe. For more specific information, you can visit our Coronavirus website by clicking HERE.

The Choctaw Volunteer Fire Department would like to extend our condolences to the family of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office Crossing Guard who lost his life this morning while on duty.

We would also like to express our heartfelt sympathy to the men and women of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office as they mourn the loss of one of their own.

Click HERE to see related story.