An overnight fire damaged a house and a community center near the historic Buddy Bolden house in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans, authorities said Thursday.

No injuries were reported, according to the New Orleans Fire Department. The flames did not reach the Bolden house.

The fire was reported at 4:21 a.m. near South Liberty and First Streets. The fire started in an abandoned single-story, wood-framed home on South Liberty Street and spread to a two-story community center behind it, NOFD said.

Someone was working in the community center at the time of the fire and escaped before firefighters arrived, NOFD said.

The abandoned home was destroyed in the fire and collapsed, NOFD said. The community center was heavily damaged.

+4 No progress visible at the blighted Buddy Bolden house, but work may begin soon Despite stiff fines leveled by the city and promises from a prominent local musician, the historic Central City home of legendary jazz pioneer…

The fire was under control as of 4:51 a.m. Sixteen NOFD units carrying 45 NOFD personnel responded.

There was no immediate word about the cause of the fire, but a neighbor told NOFD he saw someone earlier using a small fire between the buildings in an effort to stay warm.

The historic home of Bolden, a legendary jazz pioneer, is at 2309-2311 First Street. It has been unoccupied and blighted for years but recently received repairs after the owner, Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church, was cited by the city for neglecting the property. New Orleans musician PJ Morton has plans to restore the 19th-century double shotgun house and the identical one beside it, 2305-2307 First Street, as a Bolden museum and studio.

Bolden, an innovative New Orleans trumpeter popular at the turn of the last century, is considered by many to be the first real jazz musician, making his former home an important landmark in the history of the American musical style.

Photographer Chris Granger contributed to this story.