The cause of a five-alarm fire that displaced 17 people in New Orleans yesterday morning is still being investigated.
Firefighters were dispatched to the 1800 block of Baronne Street around 5:15 a.m. when the fire started in an abandoned building and spread to an adjacent townhouse.
Fire Superintendent Tim McConnell says there were reports of squatters in the building where the fire started.
No injuries were reported, but three people had to be rescued from a balcony and another from inside a room in the townhouse.
FOX 8 reports that the vacant house was the source of numerous code violations over the years.
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