Fire Incident At Superdome: A Look Back At The Drama

(New Orleans, Louisiana) - The 2026-27 football season is rapidly approaching, and I recently saw crews prepping the Superdome for the upcoming New Orleans Saints season, which reminded me of an incident from inside the dome many years ago.

The Superdome in Downtown New Orleans is one of the most iconic sports venues in the country, and while it has seen some memorable moments, it has also seen some unfortunate ones.

We all remember the "No Call" that happened when the Saints were marching back to the Super Bowl, and we also remember when the lights went out during the Super Bowl in the Superdome.

When a fire broke out in the Superdome

However, do you remember when a fire started in the rafters of the Superdome while the Saints were hosting their rival, the San Fransico 49ers?

I remember the day it happened, and as a kid, I thought everyone in the dome was in danger. Little did I know at the time that the fire itself was not large, and the building's structure was never really in danger.

Still, there was a fire high above the field, and yes, for a split second, the playing surface in the dome was compromised when a fireball landed on it. John Madden and Pat Summerall were calling the game, and their play-by-play of the incident still echoes through my head many years later.

I assume the fire may have been started by fireworks or an electrical issue in the building, as it was in the rafters where the trussing was over the field, but the most impressive part of all of this was the man who climbed up in the rafters to battle the blaze.

READ MORE: Watch Man Drive a Go-Kart on I-10

As you'll see below, the man did not go up in the rafters with a fire extinguisher, but rather, with a blanket that is likely designed to extinguish and smother fires. And while the man was successful in containing the small blaze, a portion of what was on fire fell onto the artificial surface in the Superdome.

Immediately, you see trainers rush out onto the field with water jugs and towels to extinguish the small fire on the field. What a crazy scene.

So, let's hit the rewind button on this one and watch how this all went down. Be sure to have the volume up, as the iconic broadcasters never missed a beat.