Vehicle crashes into power pole, starts house fire in Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - A vehicle that crashed into a power pole late Saturday was the cause of a house fire.

At around 11:50 p.m. Saturday, firefighters responded to a call about a vehicle accident on West McKinley Street near Thomas H. Delpit Drive, according to the Baton Rouge Fire Department.

Firefighters found a white truck had slammed against and knocked down the power pole. While firefighters were working the scene, they noticed smoke coming from the home in front of the accident. They learned the crash caused a power surge into the home.

As firefighters went to investigate, four people were seen leaving the home. Firefighters entered the house and found the fire in attic. At the same time, a person was trapped inside the crashed vehicle and firefighters initially could not get the victim out because of the live wires from the power pole.

Once specialists from Entergy came to the scene and cut the power lines, firefighters helped the person out of the vehicle. Emergency personnel then transported the victim to the hospital. EMS said the victim’s injuries are serious, but do not appear life-threatening.

Firefighters put out the fire by around 12:18 a.m., according to the BRFD incident report.

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