Quick reactions and response time from the New Iberia Fire Department prevented several other structures from being engulfed in flame this weekend as an abandoned structure in the 200 block of chestnut street caught fire late Friday night.

According to the NIFD, the structure was already fully engulfed in flames by the time they arrived on the scene.

When we got here it was fully engulfed, the flames were shooting out of the gables,” said NIFD Captain Chris Broussard. “We spoke to the neighbors and there wasn’t anyone living in it, the house didn’t have power or gas, and it had been abandoned for two or three years, they said.”

The state of the structure played a part in why the flames progressed so quickly, with both the main house and a side structure becoming completely engulfed in minutes. Luckily for neighbors in the surrounding area, the NIFD was able to contain the fire.

“You can tell the house was old. When we got here we could tell that the back of the roof had fallen in, so it went up pretty quick with it being an all-wood house,” Cpt. Broussard explained. “We got pretty lucky. We knocked it down and kept the fire contained. That’s thanks to all the trucks and personnel we had.”

The cause of the fire is still unknown, though some neighbors reported hearing an explosion coming from the area.

“They called in and said he thought he heard an explosion,” Cpt. Broussard said. “Other neighbors said they didn’t hear anything. The condition of the house is so bad that it’s most likely going to be undetermined unless somebody has something on camera or saw somebody coming out of it.”