NEW ORLEANS - A New Orleans city official says the abandoned warehouse where eight homeless squatters died in a fire was on a list of properties slated for demolition.


Jeff Hebert (AYE' behr), the city's director of blight policy, said Wednesday that the city had tried since 2007 to get the property owner to fix and secure the warehouse.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu said he hopes "strong enforcement" of city codes will compel property owners to comply with orders to fix blighted structures.

Investigators were still trying to identify the victims of Tuesday's fire, but acquaintances said they were young men and women - musicians and artists - who were using the building for shelter. Authorities said they had been burning debris to keep warm.


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