Touro Infirmary was being evacuated due to a two-alarm fire on Saturday afternoon, according to an internal Orleans Parish Communications District memo obtained by The Times-Picayune.

Sprinklers were activated on some floors, and smoke was present in the hospital in the 3500 block of Prytania Street as of around 2:20 p.m., when the New Orleans Fire Department was looking for the source of smoke, a source familiar with the incident said.

NOFD received a call at 1:56 p.m. and arrived at the scene at 2:01 p.m., according to an internal memo. A second alarm was struck at 2:17 p.m.

Andy Monteverde, vice president of the New Orleans Fire Fighters Association, applauded personnel for their swift response to "what could have spun into disaster."

"New Orleanians deserve no less when they call

See Full Page