More than 80 New Orleans firefighters battled a multiple-alarm fire Wednesday that destroyed a Victorian-style mansion that had been in the same family for generations.
Superintendent Timothy McConnell described the damage to the city landmark as "a catastrophic loss," NOLA.com reports. Three people, as well as an elderly poodle, were able to escape from the burning mansion.
A New Orleans firefighter needed help out of the burning home after he became disoriented fighting the blaze. Flames shot through floor boards after a firefighter stepped down, but he was able to escape the building safely.
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Authorities received a call concerning "flames visible" coming from the house in the 2500 block of St. Charles Avenue at around 7:45 a.m., according to a statement by the New Orleans Fire Department. As firefighters arrived at the scene, heavy yellow smoke rushed from the mansion's first floor and basement, where chlorine and pool products had been stored.
Eventually, the incident was raised to a seven-alarm fire as flames reached the attic and engulfed the roof, the fire department said. A four-story apartment building to the right of the burning house was evacuated as the blaze intensified and the surrounding tree canopies caught fire.
Firefighters were finally able to get the blaze under control by about 1:45 p.m., but they remained to watch for and extinguish hot spots. Before then, authorities went door-to-door though a nearby, five-story, 20-unit condominium building to make sure residents had safely left.
The New Orleans Fire Department had 26 units carrying 85 firefighters to battle the blaze. Crews from St. Tammany Parish, Jefferson Parish, Kenner and St. Bernard fire departments helped cover other areas of the city left unprotected by the mansion fire.
The mansion was built in 1888 by John Morris, who founded the Louisiana Lottery, and the architect was Thomas Sully, according to the Experience New Orleans website. Anne Grace's great-grandfather bought the house in 1906, and it has been in the Dowman-Kock-Montgomery-Grace family for more than 100 years, according to NOLA.com.
This is the second time the house has caught fire recently. A blaze caused by lightning damaged the mansion in 2007.
The cause of Wednesday's fire won't be known until a full investigation is complete, the fire department said.
