SLIDELL, La. (WGNO) — “It was the worst house fire in my 35-year career,” Chief Chris Kaufmann told WGNO News Friday morning, Jan. 19. Exactly two years earlier, Kaufmann was at the scene of a fatal house fire in Slidell where four family members died.
The home, he said, only had one smoke detector and it wasn’t working.
Kaufmann made the comments at Legacy GMC in Slidell. He joined other firefighters and dealership workers to remember Stephen Lousteau, an employee there who was killed in that fire in 2022 along with his wife and two daughters.
“He was the kindest, most generous guy you ever met,” Legacy GMC General Manager Damian Dudenheffer said. “He’d give you the shirt off his back.”
Friday morning, the dealership handed out 400 smoke detectors while firefighters were on hand to instruct people how to properly install the devices.
“Smoke detectors are the single most important thing that can save a life,” Kaufmann said.
“When you lose a family member, stuff hits home, hits home a little harder than usual,” Dudenheffer said. “We just wanted to prevent other families and other people from feeling the way we felt.”
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