NEW ORLEANS — Firefighters were battling several fires across southeast Louisiana overnight, including two fires in New Orleans on Wednesday morning.
The New Orleans Fire Department says a fire started around 3:30 a.m. at a vacant home in the 3200 block of Toledano Street in the Broadmoor neighborhood. Firefighters said the flames spread to an adjacent duplex before they were under control. Five residents of the duplex were displaced and they told officials that the home where the fire started is often frequented by vagrants.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Hours later, New Orleans firefighters were battling another, larger fire at Life Storage New Orleans, a storage facility in the 3200 block of General De Gaulle Drive in Algiers. The fire was upgraded to a three-alarm fire as firefighters needed more help to control the flames.
21 NOFD units and 54 fire operations personnel were needed to bring the fire under control at 8:29 a.m.
Firefighters struggled to find the source of the flames. NOFD spokesperson Michael Williams said firefighters were having a difficult time chasing the fire which is spreading through insulation in the building's attic.
"Every time they catch one part, it spreads to a different area," Williams said.
Photos show firefighters cutting their way into storage units to fight the fire. Williams added that several dozen storage units were burning, destroying many items stored inside.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but no injuries were reported.
And in Houma, firefighters battled a fire at an apartment complex around 4:40 a.m. on Chateau Court. Firefighters say the fire spread to three separate apartments, but the structure was reportedly unoccupied. Firefighters say the flames caused heavy damage to the building, causing a partial wall collapse.
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