NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Several New Orleans Fire Department crews and trucks were on the scene at St. Augustine High School after receiving a 911 call at 4:48 p.m. on Thursday evening regarding smoke billowing from the building.
The school is located at 2600 A.P. Tureaud Avenue in the 7th Ward,
WGNO reporter LBJ quickly confirmed via Twitter that a portion of the Purple Knight’s gymnasium at the corner of George Nick Conner and Hope streets was indeed on fire.
NOFD Public Information Officer Edwin Holmes addressed the media shortly after 6 p.m. According to Holmes, the first company arrived at the school at 4:51 p.m. to extinguish a one-alarm fire on the second-floor of the gym that did extend out to cause damage to the roof. He also said there is both water and smoke damage to first floor due to containment efforts.
There were no people inside the building at the time of the incident and as of yet no cause nor indication as to whether or not there were workers in the building during the day as the facility was closed due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
It was later reported that seven NOFD companies supported by twenty-one Fire Operations personnel were used to bring this incident under control at 5:32 pm. There were no firefighter injuries reported and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
- Call Received: 4:48 pm
- Dispatched: 4:48 pm
- Arrival: 4:51 pm
- Under Control: 5:32 pm
- NOFD Units: 7
- NOFD Personnel: 21
- Injuries: None Reported
- Cause: Under Investigation
WGNO will provide further updates as they become available.
