A fire ignited in a Belle Chasse warehouse – formerly a yeast factory – causing one lane of Highway 23 to be temporarily shut down.

Four fire engines from Belle Chasse and Terrytown departments responded to the fire shortly after noon on Feb. 24.
Pat Comiskey, a local who had a stock of phones books in storage at the location, stood outside the building to make sure the fire did not move.

“I was unloading some phone books and I started smelling smoke [coming from] the building next to us,” said Comiskey.
Belle Chasse Fire Department Chief Roy Robichaux was on the scene, also.

“[People] were cutting up scrap metal,” said Robichaux later. “Some combustibles caught on fire.”

According to the chief, the fire spread to materials being stored inside the building, which caused the heavy smoke to billow out of the openings in the roof.

The parties suspected to be responsible for the fire were confronted by the department, and admitted to accidentally starting the flame, said Robichaux.

There was no crime committed, and the structure was maintained as most of the damage was to paraphernalia being stored in the warehouse, said Robichaux.

No one was injured, and two people were thought to be missing but were discovered safely outside of the building.