NEW ORLEANS – A woman and her grandmother are homeless after a two-alarm fire tore through three townhouses in Algiers overnight.
The first fire trucks arrived at the scene of the fire at 5844 Tullis Drive shortly before 10:30 p.m. on December 18, according to the New Orleans Fire Department.
Firefighters immediately searched the townhouse, which was fully engulfed in flames, and was later determined to be unoccupied.
The occupants of a neighboring townhouse, an adult woman and her grandmother, were able to safely escape before the first units arrived, according to the NOFD.
A third townhouse unit was also damaged by the fire, which necessitated a second alarm just after 12:15 a.m.
The unoccupied building where the fire started was filled with trash and old furniture, contributing to the strength of the fire, according to the NOFD.
The fire was brought under control by 1:09 a.m., and the investigation into the cause of the blaze is ongoing.
Red Cross workers were on the scene to help the women who were displaced.