Bayou Fire Chief Shuts Down Boarding Home

Mattresses, bed springs, and clothes sit on the lawn of Laquita's Boarding House, now these homes are shut down.

"The conditions we ran into were deplorable," said Chief John Wiggins with the Bayou La Batre Fire Department.

Chief Wiggins says his department received a 911 call from the residence, "When we got on the scene. One of the staff members was yelling telling them that he did not have authority to call 911. That raised the red flag to our guys."

Three homes are on the property. He says none of them meet standard codes.

"Absolutely no smoke alarms, in any of the structures. no fire extinguishers, exposed wiring in some of the rooms, exit doors locked as well as blocked, steps removed from the mobile home structure so the patients couldn't get out the back."

So the State Fire Marshall was called in.

"We've been here 9 years and no one has ever called or complained," said Abraham Johnson the owner's son.

Johnson calls it a misunderstanding, "When the state came out they were under the assumption that this was a state house. So they went by the state rules and said you can't have this and have that. We let them know it's not a group home it's a boarding home."

The definition of a group home is a home where a small number of unrelated people in need of care, support, or supervision can live together, such as those who are elderly or mentally ill. A boarding home is simply a house providing food and lodging for paying guests.

"I'm sure there's a difference in a boarding home and what she's running. These patients are mentally challenged. I'm not sure where she's getting her funding. I know these patients as she states may be free to come and go but none of them can drive. They are not able to make clear cut decisions. She's being funding through some agency and I think the county needs to step up and find out," the chief said.

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Bayou Fire Chief Shuts Down Boarding Home