05/19/2026
Fire Department claimed it out with structure intact and rekindle finished it off
⚜️ Nottoway Plantation ⚜️ (Update)
⭐️ Lawsuit Filed ⭐️
🏠 This week the owners of Nottoway Plantation filed a lawsuit against Iberville Parish, the City of Plaquemine, and others, claiming gross negligence caused the total loss of the historic mansion in a fire one year ago.
🏡 Nottoway Plantation & Resort II, LLC filed the petition for damages in the 18th Judicial District Court on May 13.
🏠 The lawsuit names the Iberville Parish Council, City of Plaquemine, Parish President Chris Daigle, and Safe Home Monitoring as defendants.
🏡 The 53,000-square-foot mansion caught fire on May 15, 2025. The lawsuit states the fire started as an electrical fire in the museum area.
🔥 The Plaquemine Fire Department responded to the fire at approximately 2:17 p.m., according to the lawsuit.
👩🚒 Firefighters deployed handlines to the interior of the second floor and directed master streams from the exterior.
🔥 By approximately 3:30 p.m., the fire was reported as contained, the lawsuit states.
🧑🏻🚒 The lawsuit claims the fire department failed to follow proper procedures for fighting fires by failing to send a hose line to the attic, despite at least two Nottoway
🔥 Plantation employees notifying the department that water needed to be put into the walls from the attic to prevent the fire from reigniting and spreading.
🏠 The lawsuit claims Parish President Chris Daigle arrived on scene at a critical juncture when the structure was still salvageable.
🏡 Despite having no tactical authority under the Incident Command System, Daigle issued a direct order to “stand down,” according to the lawsuit.
🏠 The order forbade firefighters from accessing the roof or attic to apply water to the spreading fire, the lawsuit states.
🏡 The lawsuit claims this order forced firefighters to abandon the structure, resulting in the fire rekindling and the subsequent total collapse of the mansion.
🏠 The lawsuit claims the municipal water supply was insufficient.
🧑🏻🚒 The single available hydrant provided approximately 1,500 gallons per minute, which was less than 43 percent of the required fire flow, according to the lawsuit.
💦 Firefighting personnel on scene reported the water pressure was operating at approximately 30 percent of capacity, rendering aerial master streams useless, the lawsuit states.
🏠 By the evening of May 15, the fire breached the attic space.
🏡 The roof structure began to sag and collapsed by nightfall, crashing down through the second and first floors, according to the lawsuit.
⭐️ We will be following this lawsuit as more information becomes available. ⭐️
