Blaze damages residential double
An unattended space heater is blamed for a fire that caused damage to a shotgun double at 2500 Freret Street Thursday morning.
A resident of the one of the units told fire officials she may have left the electric heater on when she went to work and investigators later confirmed it. The heater burned a hole in the floor of the structure.
Heavy smoke and flames were visible when firefighters arrived on the scene just after 9:30AM. 43 firefighters battled the blaze which was fully extinguished in about 90 minutes.
Fire prevention officers remind residents that heaters should never be left unattended and that they should be plugged directly into a wall socket and not into extension cords.
