A recreational vehicle was engulfed in flames yesterday afternoon near the Treme area, causing alarm and disrupting traffic along I-10. According to WDSU, the fire occurred around 2:30 p.m. and footage from the scene captured smoke billowing from the RV prior to it catching fire. The exact cause of the fire has not been determined, and it’s unclear if there were any injures.
On the same day, a tour bus belonging to Southern Style Tour caught fire under similar circumstances. This incident took place near the intersection of Kerlerec Street and North Claiborne Avenue under the I-10 overpass. Motorists witnessed a plume of black smoke as the New Orleans Fire Department responded to the emergency. "We were about 20 minutes into the tour and someone in the back said there's black smoke coming out from above the driver," Lauretta Prince told WWL Louisiana, describing a frantic escape from the smoke-filled bus.
Both the RV and the tour bus fires impacted those traveling along I-10 East, who had to navigate through the haze and odor associated with such incidents. The area near Esplanade Avenue and North Claiborne Avenue, in particular, was subject to the visual and olfactory presence of smoke, although details on the impact of traffics have yet to be released.
Officials from the New Orleans Fire Department confirmed their response to the tour bus incident, as did witness accounts which stressed that all passengers managed to evacuate before the vehicle was fully ablaze. Southern Style, the company operating the tour bus, has not responded to requests for comment, as reported by NOLA.com.
