METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — A three-alarm fire heavily damaged a Metairie apartment complex Monday night.
The fire broke out overnight at the Chateau Napoleon Apartments on Edenborn Avenue.
Dozens of residents are displaced Tuesday morning after the fire raged through the complex. Several residents lost everything within hours and have nowhere to go since all apartments are full due to Hurricane Ida.
The fire broke out at just before 12:30 overnight. Several Jefferson Parish firefighters jumped into action using ladders to reach the flames on the balconies. The crew spent at least two hours trying to extinguish the fire.
One of the renters we spoke to this morning says he feels lucky to be alive after what he experienced last night.
“I heard this loud cracking noise. It’s sounded like electricity static. I heard a charge, like some “zzzzz” charged up. When I woke up, I saw smoke on the ceiling. When I walked out to my balcony, I looked up and I saw flames and the smoke was still coming in so, it was happening on the third floor. I grabbed what I could and escaped,” Devin Fleming described.
Now that the sun is up, first responders are assessing the damage. Team members from Red Cross have been at the apartments helping residents through the next steps. The big thing they told us they’re trying to figure out is, where they will shelter the displaced tenants.
No injuries have been reported at this time. What caused the fire is still under investigation.