3 Girls Die in New Orleans Fire
A fire raced through two wooden houses in the Algiers section of the city late Thursday and early Friday, killing three young girls ranging in age from 1 to 4, officials said.
The grandfather of the children told firefighters he got a young boy out of the burning house, but the intense blaze prevented him from returning for the others.
Flames were shooting into the air and out the front door of the house where the girls were staying when firefighters arrived at the scene about 11 p.m. Thursday, officials said. The fire already had spread to an adjacent home.
“Both (houses) were totally involved, and it was impossible for men to enter the building,” said Fire Supt. William J. McCrossen.
He theorized that the fire started in the rear of the building that first went up in flames.
The bodies of two of the girls were recovered from that rear area about 2:30 a.m. and the third body was found about 5 a.m., said Fire Department spokesman Richard Blackmon.
“Everything is burned away. Even the floor is gone,” Blackmon said.
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