public safety

Firefighters battle a five-alarm fire in Central City

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New Orleans firefighters are battling a five-alarm blaze at Baronne and Felicity streets that started early Monday. Four people were rescued after the fire quickly spread from a vacant camelback to nearby apartment building, WWL-TV reported. The fire started before 5:20 a.m. in the 1800 block of Baronne Street in Central City, according to the New Orleans Fire Department. Firefighters arriving at the scene rescued three people from a balcony and a fourth person from a nearby burning building. The New Orleans Fire Department posted photos on social media battling flames from a second-story window in the darkness and continuing to fight the large fire after the sun came up.

public safety

Fatal car crash sets off blaze in Broadmoor beauty salon; woman dies from burn injuries

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A speeding driver crashed into a beauty salon Wednesday night, setting the car and the building on fire. Both people inside the car died at the scene, the New Orleans Police Department reported, and two children and multiple adults were injured in the blaze. One of the fire victims, a woman who was getting her hair done in the salon, died at the hospital of her injuries, the NOPD reported early Friday. The crash set off a three-alarm fire in the building at 4125 Washington Ave., Fire Superintendent Tim McConnell said. The building houses the Unity-1 Beauty Supply and Hair Salon.

public safety

New Orleans police to conduct driver sobriety checks tonight

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The NOPD’s Traffic Division will conduct a sobriety checkpoint at an undisclosed location beginning at 9 p.m. today, Thursday, March 21, and ending at 5 a.m. on Friday, March 22. Motorists who encounter this checkpoint will experience minimal delays and should have the proper documentation available if requested: proof of insurance, driver’s license and vehicle registration.

city government

Lab tests for driver in Esplanade Avenue crash that killed cyclists still pending, police say

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The testing to determine whether the driver was intoxicated in the March 2 crash that killed two bicyclists on Esplanade Avenue is still being conducted at the state crime lab, New Orleans police said late this week. Tashonty Toney, 32, was arrested on charges of vehicular homicide, vehicular negligent injury, reckless operation of a vehicle and hit-and-run driving after the crash, which killed Sharree Walls, 27, and David Hynes, 31, and injured seven other people on Esplanade Avenue near Ponce de Leon Street near the Endymion route. Police said Toney was believed to be “impaired” at the time of the crash but have yet to release any information about his blood-alcohol levels. NOPD spokesman Gary Scheets said Thursday that those tests are still underway at the Louisiana State Police laboratory in Baton Rouge. No details about the tests — including how long they are expected to take — will be released until they are complete and returned to the NOPD, said Sgt.

city government

Where to find first aid and toilets and how not to be a jerk on parade days

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Well before the first marching band strikes up in the Oshun parade on Friday evening, city officials have been working to make this year’s Uptown parade season safe and enjoyable. Trees have been trimmed, response plans tested, first-aid and lost-child stations have been set up, porta-potties are in place and information lines and apps established. The city is also asking parade-goers and neighborhood residents to do their part by showing consideration for all. First-aid stations
First-aid stations are staffed by the New Orleans Health Department and the Medical Reserve Corps. Paradegoers are encouraged to go to a first aid station if in need of medical assistance.

public safety

Air quality alert issued after fire destroys Garden District mansion

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You can see the smoke and enormous flames from the Garden District fire all the way in the 400 block of Poydras. pic.twitter.com/Eu9qoDbBAA
— Mid-City Messenger (@MidCityMessengr) February 20, 2019

Smoke from the seven-alarm fire in the Garden District on Wednesday damaged air quality throughout the city, the city’s emergency preparedness office reports. Anyone who is elderly or has respiratory disease, such as asthma, is advised to stay inside, keep their doors and windows closed, set their air-conditioning systems to re-circulate the air inside the building and avoid using exhaust fans if possible. Anyone who is having difficulty breathing should seek medical attention. The heavy smoke may impact the air in the Central Business District, French Quarter, Treme, Mid-City, Fairgrounds, 7th Ward, St.

public safety

Cyclist killed by garbage truck on Carrollton

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The NOPD is investigating a fatal accident involving a garbage truck and a bicyclist on Carrollton Avenue near Freret St. The incident occurred around 8:49 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, in the 1000 block of Carrollton. A waste disposal truck was traveling north on Carrollton collided with a 30-year old male who was riding a bicycle, traveling in the same direction. The victim was transported to a local hospital, where he later died.

Mardi Gras

Fire endangers historic St. Charles Avenue mansion in the Garden District

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New Orleans Fire Department firefighters battled a seven-alarm blaze that threatens a notable historic building in the 2500 block of St. Charles Avenue on Wednesday morning. The 150-year-old mansion, the home to several kings and queens of Carnival, was in danger of collapse Wednesday morning, NOFD Superintendent Timothy McConnell said. The fire was brought under control 1:45, but the mansion’s three residents lost their home. No injuries were reported.

crime

NOPD seeking to locate runaway patient

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from New Orleans Police Department

The NOPD is seeking assisting with locating an adult male who has been reported as a runaway patient from a local hospital. Caleb Guy, 21, who was committed to a hospital where he was undergoing psychiatric treatment, was reported to have escaped the facility and his current whereabouts are unknown. Guy is reportedly prone to exhibit violent and physically aggressive behavior. Guy is described as a white male standing about 5’9” and weighing about 140 pounds. He was last seen wearing a maroon scrub shirt and green scrub pants.