NEW ORLEANS — Two floors of an apartment building on Esplanade Avenue were evacuated this afternoon.
New Orleans firefighters say they responded to a call of a fire and possible explosion at The Esplanade at City Park building in the 3400 block of Esplanade Avenue. The call came in at about 4:45. Firefighters say they located the fire in an apartment on the seventh floor of the building.
Inside the apartment, the NOFD says it located an unresponsive dog. But no people were home at the time.
As a precaution, the sixth and seventh floors of the building were evacuated.
Firefighters say they were able to contain the fire to the apartment where it started. But they say that apartments below that apartment will have to be vacated due to damage from the water that was used to fight the flames.
Around 6:00, the NOFD said that the fire was out.
In all, the fire went to three alarms with 60 firefighters on the job, and six apartments were affected. Crews will remain on the scene while the building is ventilated to remove as much of the smoke as possible.
The Louisiana State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. As of Thursday night, firefighters say they were unable to find any evidence that an explosion occurred in the apartment.
The Red Cross is assisting seven tenants and their pets.
Nobody was injured in the fire. Firefighters were able to revive the dog before it was transported to a veterinary clinic for medical care.