NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A late-night fire in New Orleans left about a dozen people displaced, detectives said late Sunday night.
The New Orleans Fire Department reports around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, firefighters responded to the 3400 block of Magnolia Street. That’s where crews found two duplex homes heavily engulfed in flames.
As work began to extinguish the fire, authorities say the wind caused the flames to spread to two other nearby homes — both of them two-story multi-family homes. A second alarm was called just minutes after crews arrived on-scene.
“For some reason, I heard, ‘Get out the house; it’s on fire,’ and immediately, I woke up because that’s not something you just hear and believe you’re going to be fine,” Alvin Tircuit who lived in one of the homes. “Then, I immediately ran out the house, and I saw there was a fire right here on the side of the house.”
Fortunately, Tircuit was able to escape the house alongside his 79-year-old grandmother and uncle, but his grandmother lost her hearing aids to the fire, and other personal belongings are now gone.
“I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve been squinting a lot,” Tircuit said. “I wear glasses, and they were definitely in there. But when I woke up to the fire, I wasn’t looking for my glasses. I was looking for a way out that house.”
Blinded by the smoke, firefighters continued to fight the flames, which caused at least one building to collapse. Third and fourth alarms had been called in shortly before midnight, the NOFD said. The fire was brought under control around 1:30 a.m., about two hours after crews arrived on the scene.
Two of the buildings were destroyed, while one sustained heavy damage from the smoke and flames. The fourth building sustained moderate damage.
We’re told all residents of the buildings evacuated prior to firefighters arriving. The American Red Cross was called in to assist the residents.
More than 20 fire engines carrying roughly 80 firefighters responded to the scene. No one was injured, but those who are displaced were in a state of shock.
“[I] dropped to my knees,” Sylvester Taplin, who lived in one of the burned properties, said. “It’s bad, it’s really bad. [I] lost everything.”
As neighbors assess the damage, some are wondering if the fire was exacerbated.
“Both fire hydrants on both ends of the street did not have any water, like they need to figure that out,” Tircuit said.
According to the district’s council person, Lesli Harris, after speaking with fire officials, her understanding is one nearby fire hydrant was working, and the other was not, but because of the strong winds, the inoperable fire hydrant would not have made a difference.
Neighbors are mostly concerned about surviving and say they need some help.
“Anything, I need everything,” Taplin said. “Hey, I need help. This is all I have what I have on my back.”
If you would like to help the Tircuit family, donations can be dropped off at 4677 Charlene Drive, New Orleans 70127.
If you would like to assist Taplin, call 504-265-5940.
In response to the fire hydrant issue, Councilman Oliver Thomas is calling on the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans to review their protocol in assessing them.
A spokeswoman for the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans told WGNO in a statement:
The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) routinely coordinates and collaborates with New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD) to repair and replace hydrants that NOFD identifies as damaged or broken. We have spoken at length with NOFD about this particular location and situation. We have been informed that there was a functional hydrant available at the intersection of Magnolia and Louisiana. There was a broken hydrant at the intersection of Amelia and Magnolia, which was assessed as recently as July of 2022 and was functional at that time. We will continue to work with our partners at NOFD to address hydrants they identify as broken or damage. As always, we encourage the public to call 52-WATER to report broken hydrants or report any water or sewer issue they see.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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