New Orleans fire officials say a two-story house boat caught fire early Saturday morning, destroying the vessel and damaging nearby buildings and boats in West End Marina
NOFD units rushed to the scene around 3:30 a.m. as flames from the boat lit up the sky and reflected across the water. The boat which was docked at 31 South Roadway Street in the marina.
No one was inside the boat when firefighters arrived and no injuries were reported, but the flames engulfed the floating home and smoke damaged two nearby apartments, as well as two other boats.
The two apartments also sustained water damage but no one was home in either when firefighters arrived, NOFD officials said.
A second alarm was called around 4 a.m. to bring more first responders to the marina and by 4:30 a.m. the fire was contained. In total, 17 NOFD units carrying 43 firefighters were on the scene. State Fire Marshal and Entergy personnel were also on the scene Saturday morning.
Officials said the cause of the fire is under investigation, and they believed it broke out on the first floor of the house boat.