NEW ORLEANS- A 45-year-old man is in critical condition this morning after being trapped inside of St. Vincent Market as it went up in flames Thursday night.
Investigators say that the blaze broke out around 9 p.m. at the store on the corner of Constance and First Streets in the city’s Irish Channel neighborhood.
Upon arrival, they discovered the lone occupant in the building’s rear hallway suffering from varying degrees of burns and apparent smoke inhalation.
He was treated by NOFD personnel before being transported to an area hospital.
As for the corner market, it sustained heavy damage .
About 50 firefighters and 18 units responded to the Thursday night fire.
They were able to extinguish the blaze around 10 p.m. and prevent it from spreading to nearby homes.
The cause remains under investigation this morning.
Fire officials say that there were downed power lines in the area when they arrived on-scene.