A woman jumped out the window of her sixth-floor apartment after an oven fire Sunday night in New Orleans East.
"The New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD) was dispatched to a reported fire in the Peace Lake Towers, a 6-story senior apartment community located at 9025 Chef Menteur Hwy.," Capt. Edwin Holmes said in a news release. "The first NOFD company arrived at 8:01 p.m."
The fire had started in an oven.
"Firefighters dispatched as part of the first alarm moved quickly to extinguish the fire, keeping the fire damage mostly contained to the apartment of origin."
Holmes says it was a short time later, they learned that the woman who lived in the apartment where the blaze began was missing.
"It was determined that the resident of the apartment of origin had jumped from the sixth-floor apartment. The adult female was located amongst mud and shrubbery at ground level directly below the apartment. The resident, seeming sustained limited injuries from the jump, but was taken to an area hospital by New Orleans Emergency Medical Services (NOEMS) to be evaluated."
One cop was also taken to the hospital after apparently breathing too much smoke.
"A member of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) that assisted with evacuating residents prior to NOFD arrival was treated by NOEMS for smoke inhalation and also transported for further evaluation."
Twenty NOFD units with 55 personnel responded.
It took 30 minutes to get the fire under control.
"The entire sixth floor of the east wing and several floors below will likely be temporarily uninhabitable due to smoke and water damage. The American Red Cross has
been requested to the scene to assist those that may be displaced."
The entire building was evacuated as a precaution.
