Dec. 28: Firefighters walk through debris after battling a fire in an abandoned warehouse, seen in background, in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans. (AP)
NEW ORLEANS – A blaze in an abandoned building in New Orleans has killed 8 people and injured 2, Fox8Live.com reports.
New Orleans Fire Department spokesman Greg Davis confirmed the death toll early Tuesday.
Fire Chief Charles Parent tells WWL-TV that survivors say the fire started when people burned wood in a barrel to stay warm. He says the survivors got out through a window.
Temperatures were around freezing overnight in New Orleans.
Parent says the bodies have been turned over to the coroner's office. He says firefighters couldn't tell their age or gender. He says that cadaver dogs will be brought in at daylight in case there were others in the building in New Orleans' 9th Ward.
The blaze is the deadliest in New Orleans in more than 30 years, when 29 people were killed in a fire at a cocktail lounge in 1973, Fox8Live.com reports.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report
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