NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Fire Department spent the better part of Saturday afternoon fighting a blazing 3-alarm fire in Algiers across from New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy.

Billowing black smoke could be seen clearly across the Mississippi River by motorists on Interstate 10 as the NOFD was dispatched to 425 O’Bannon Street at 12:30 p.m. regarding a vehicle fire with a person trapped inside.

Upon arriving on the scene, firefighters encountered a mid-size SUV which had struck a vacant building within the Federal City complex. Luckily for the driver, two witnesses pulled him to safety with no time to spare as both vehicle and building quickly burst into flames.

WGNO reporter LBJ tweeted video from the scene as firefighters began containment efforts.

A third alarm was requested at 1:41 p.m. after embers from the original fire sparked another building nearby. Both structures were described as vacant and unoccupied.

Nineteen NOFD units carrying forty-six Fire Operations personnel were used to bring this incident under control at 2:10 p.m.

The victim, an adult male approximately 30-40 years of age, was described as conscious but unresponsive when rescued.

He has been transported to an area hospital for further evaluation.

The extent of his injuries are unknown at this time.