Firefighters from the New Orleans Fire Department battled a four-alarm blaze last month at a vacant home in Gentilly. The vacant structure was the home to former New Orleans Mayor Dutch Morial, according to a report by nola.com. The house has been vacant since Hurricane Katrina. Family members said the house was in the middle of renovation at the time of the fire.
Just before 5 a.m., fire crews responded to the house on Harrison Avenue and discovered flames coming through the home’s roof, according to a New Orleans Fire Department spokesperson. By 6:30 a.m., the 82 firefighters and 29 fire units had the fire under control. Fire crews stayed on-site to watch for hot spots until around 8:30 a.m. Two firefighters suffered heat exhaustion and crews treated them at the scene. No one suffered burn injuries in the fire, according to the spokesperson.
The fire damaged the home’s second floor, attic and roof. The first floor suffered damage from water and smoke. Investigators think a spark near an air conditioning unit in the home may have started the fire. A generator inside the home was its only source of electricity. An investigation is ongoing.
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