BY KERI CHAMPION

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE-Sometimes small miracles are the ones we appreciate most. A fire broke out at 243 Belle Terre Boulevard on Tuesday morning, but no injuries were reported.

Rita Scott, a post office worker is the tenant in apartment C and she said she received a call from one of the postal servicemen saying she couldn’t deliver mail on Belle Terre because of a fire there.

&#8220My co-worker called and told me the complex was on fire when she found out the mail could not be delivered due to the fire. I rushed home and saw that my home had not been damaged badly,” Scott said.

Scott came home and opened her home adjoining apartment B and could see smoke coming from her house.

&#8220It’s like god answered my prayer, I am a Katrina victim and I have lost my home once, I couldn’t have handled losing it all again,” she said.

Deputy Chief Clyde Giroir of LaPlace Volunteer Fire Department said the fire was started in what looked to be between the first and second floors of apartment B at the complex on Belle Terre Boulevard.

&#8220We were able to get the fire under control within about five minutes. We are investigating the possibility of electrical wiring at the possible cause of the blaze,” he said.

Both LaPlace and Reserve units responded to the call. The call came in at 10:17 and the fire dept arrived at 10:18.

Witnesses said the smoke was coming from the second level and appeared to start on that floor.

&#8220Most of the damage was sustained in apartment B where the fire started. There was a lot of fire and smoke damage to the residence. However, apartment C did see some additional smoke damage,” Giroir said.

When fire units arrived, all residents had evacuated themselves and searches found no one else in the building. The cause of the fire is still unconfirmed and the fire department continues the investigation.

As a precautionary measure, firefighters cut power to the whole building to examine the electrical wiring.

It is unclear as to how long the residents will have to find other housing accommodations before the apartment complex is considered safe again. An electrician will be called out to inspect the area before residents return.