Massive fire engulfs buildings in central New Orleans, 60 firefighters on scene (VIDEO)

Firefighters are battling a large blaze in Bayou St John in Mid City, New Orleans. No-one has been reported injured in the fire but authorities are urging residents to avoid the area.

New Orleans Fire Department chief Tim McConnell said the blaze started in a warehouse which houses the ‘NOLA Til Ya Die’ clothes store near the intersection of Toulouse Street and North Jefferson Davis Parkway. The store is closed from Sunday to Tuesday and it’s unclear how the blaze started.

At least 60 firefighters and a dozen firetrucks are fighting the blaze after first arriving on scene at 5am local time.

“Unfortunately, the fire had progressed pretty far ahead of them,” McConnell told WWLTV. “You’ve got a very large two-storey warehouse here with no fire protection, no built-in systems which is what you want in these types of buildings. Unfortunately, it’s a fairly large fire due to this type of construction which is prone to early collapse, once it’s exposed to fire, so we’re not putting any firefighters into the building at the moment. We’re trying to make sure it stays contained to this structure.”

The warehouse also houses Canal Furniture Liquidators which is also engulfed in flames, KSLA reports. 

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!