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."
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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."
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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.
