NEW ORLEANS — A city sanitation truck caught fire while cleaning up after the shortened Krewe of Endymion parade Saturday night.
It happened in the 5600 block of N. Claiborne Avenue near Caffin Avenue after the parade, according to Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
A truck under contract with the Department of Sanitation was working to remove garbage from the parade route when a pile of debris caught fire in the bed of the vehicle.
The burning garbage had to be dumped on Claiborne Avenue in order for New Orleans Fire Department crews to extinguish the fire, Cantrell said. It was cleared from the street around 1:20 a.m.
Cantrell tweeted photos of the scene and reminded parade goers to be careful when using charcoal and other flammable materials on the route.
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"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 in a prepared statement Sunday.
The Krewe of Endymion parade was stopped early after a man was struck and killed by a float at the intersection of Galvez and Canal streets. The parade ended after float 13.
The fatal accident involving a float comes just a couple of days after a woman was run over and killed by the second half of a tandem float in the Krewe of Nyx parade Wednesday night.
That victim was struck by float 21. The first 20 floats in that parade finished parading, but the final 23 floats were cancelled.
On Sunday, a rider in the Krewe of Thoth parade was hospitalized after falling off his float, EMS officials said. He was stable when taken to University Medical Center from the route.