NEW ORLEANS -- Firefighters were dispatched to the abandoned naval base on Poland Avenue after a trash fire was set inside the building.
According to the New Orleans Fire Department, firefighters were called to the scene around 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 5. When they arrived, they saw smoke coming from a hallway on the second floor of the building.
As firefighters made their way to the source of the smoke, they passed six to seven homeless people running to escape the fire.
A second alarm was called to get additional firefighters to the building to search for injured or lost people trying to escape the fire.
Officials say the building deteriorated conditions, with piles of trash, holes in the floor and open elevator shafts, made the search even more difficult.
Firefighters eventually found and extinguished a trash fire on the second floor. Two people were found near the fire. They were not injured and were escorted outside.
Fourteen units responded to the fire in total, carrying 38 firefighters.
