NEW ORLEANS — The home of the director of New Orleans Emergency Medical Services was badly damaged by fire Thursday afternoon, displacing her and her family, an agency spokesman said Friday.
The 2-alarm fire at Dr. Emily Nichols' a 7th Ward home began around 2:45 p.m.
Firefighters arrived to find a two-story home on fire, with heavy smoke coming out of the structure.
An elderly woman in Nochols' home noticed the fire and escaped with help from neighbors before firefighters arrived, according to the New Orleans Fire Department.
Radiant heat from the blaze also caught a neighboring home on fire. Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames there, leaving it with minor damage to the exterior wall and attic.
It took firefighters around 40 minutes to get the fire under control. No injuries were reported.
Authorities said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
A spokesman for the agency said the NOLA EMS Foundation, which supports paramedics in New Orleans, was accepting donations. Donations can be made here.
Nichols has the director of New Orleans EMS since May 2018.
New Orleans firefighters have responded to at least nine structure fires in the past two weeks.
New Orleans Fire Department Superintendent Tim McConnell held a demonstration Friday to address the fire dangers of the holiday season. Firefighters set fire to a dry Christmas tree to show how quickly flames can spread.
The head of the city's fire department reminded residents to only decorate trees with string lights that have been approved and labeled by national safety groups such as Underwriters Laboratories, and to prevent their trees from drying out.
More Stories:
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.
