NEW ORLEANS — Avoiding a nasty real-life plot twist, a writer dashed past firefighters into a burning New Orleans house to rescue two completed novels stored on his laptop.

Thirty-five-year-old Gideon Hodge told The New Orleans Advocate that he didn’t hesitate to rush into the burning multifamily house Thursday morning to grab the computer. He made it out safely with the laptop as firefighters battled the stubborn blaze.

The fire had spread to the house where Hodge lived from an empty, single-family house next door, where firefighters believe it started. Dozens of firefighters responded to the stubborn three-alarm blaze. A huge column of black smoke was visible for miles. Occupants of the second house escaped safely. No injuries were reported.