A man died Friday (Feb. 17) inside a burning Central City apartment building, the New Orleans Fire Department reported.
Firefighters were called to a fire in the 2000 block of Simon Bolivar Boulevard at about 12:30 p.m. They found an occupied seven-unit two-story apartment building, in the rear of shotgun style apartments, heavily engulfed in flames. The fire had already extended to the second floor and through the roof.
While putting out the fire, the firefighters found a man’s body in a bedroom. They believe he was in the apartment where the fire started. The victim’s body had been severely burned, and medical responders declared him dead at the scene.
Three surviving residents are displaced by this incident, two from the apartment building and one from the detached dwelling. A dog belonging to one of the residents was rescued from the extinguished ruble.
Nine NOFD units supported by 28 Fire Operations personnel were used to bring this incident under control within an hour. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. The New Orleans Police Department and Entergy assisted in the mitigation of this incident.