NEW ORLEANS – The City of New Orleans is reminding residents and visitors participating in Carnival parades to exercise extreme caution when managing any hot charcoals or combustible materials on the public rights of way.
After the Endymion parade on Saturday, a fire occurred in the truck of a Department of Sanitation contractor as crews worked to remove debris form the route.
The load had to be dumped at 5614 N. Claiborne Avenue near Caffin Avenue.
New Orleans Fire Department responded to extinguish the fire. Sanitation cleaned up the debris at about 1:20 a.m., using its front-end loaders, street sweepers and dump trucks.
“This incident could have been much worse, if the fire occurred on a bridge or if the fire was not contained before spreading,” said Cynthia Sylvain-Lear, Director of Sanitation.
Sylvain-Lear also noted that this is not the first time a fire has occurred in a sanitation vehicle after a special event cleanup when persons are allowed to cook on the neutral grounds.
