HARVEY, La. — 19 people were displaced after a fire ripped through an apartment building in Harvey. Captain Michael McAuliffe said it happened Tuesday night around 8.
“The whole kitchen was heavily involved in fire," McAuliffe said, “The cause was leaving food unattended on the stove, and the occupant had just left the apartment for a minute while the son was there, and it just took that long for the grease to catch on fire.”
The fire started in a second-floor unit in the Summerfield Apartment complex, McAuliffe said.
“The other apartments below and adjacent to it had water and smoke damage," McAuliffe said.
Thankfully, the home had a smoke detector, and no injuries were reported.
“One of the occupants of the apartment was in the bathroom and heard the smoke alarm going off. When he came out, he saw the smoke, and when he made his way to the kitchen, he saw the whole kitchen was involved in fire and he was able to get out and start alerting others about the fire," McAuliffe said.
McAuliffe said that firefighters were able to get the fire under control in under an hour.
Those who were displaced are receiving temporary assistance from the American Red Cross, McAuliffe said.
The Harvey Volunteer Fire Department said it's the fourth multiple-alarm fire in less than a month.
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