Two elderly women, one of whom was wheelchair bound, escaped a residential fire in New Orleans on Tuesday morning.
According to a press release issued by officials, the New Orleans Fire Department "received a call at 8:41 a.m. reporting a residential fire with potential persons trapped."
NEW ORLEANS CLOSES 2022 WITH SKY-HIGH HOMICIDE RATE NOT SEEN IN DECADES: ‘HORRIFIC’
Eight NOFD units rushed to the scene within minutes but by the time they arrived they discovered that the two residents, a 104-year-old wheelchair bound woman and another elderly resident had already escaped.
The wheelchair-bound woman "suffered smoke inhalation and received second-degree burns to her hands and knees. Her hair was also singed by the fire," the department reported. "A second elderly female also suffered smoke inhalation."
MISSING PREGNANT NEW ORLEANS WOMAN'S FAMILY DEMANDS ANSWERS 20 YEARS AFTER DISAPPEARANCE
Both women were treated at the scene and taken to a hospital for further treatment. A third resident, an adult male, was not home at the time of the fire.
Investigators say the fire began in a central room of the single-family home and damaged most of the home.
The fire was placed under control around 9:09 a.m and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.