Marin firefighter in New Orleans describes scene after deadly truck attack

NEW ORLEANS (KGO) -- There was not a soul in sight on New Orleans' Bourbon Street Wednesday night just outside of the crime scene area that is still closed off.

Marin County firefighter John Bagala is staying at a hotel near the attack and is in town for a firefighter union convention.

LATEST UPDATES: 15 dead in New Orleans truck attack; suspect 'inspired by ISIS' was military veteran

"Heard a tremendous amount of sirens, but personally I attributed that to New Orleans, the French Quarter on New Year's Eve and my first thought was there might be a big large fire somewhere in the neighborhood," Bagala said.

That though was not the case. Bagala found out when he woke up that a man mowed down people in a pick-up truck, fired shots into a crowd, and eventually opened fire on officers. All in an area where he had been just hours before.

"We worked our way back at around 1:15 in the morning," Bagala said. "Cut straight through within about a block and a half of where the incident first took place. I think as firefighters the first thing for us, you feel a little guilt in the fact that we weren't involved. Knowing that there was that many injured folks out there all of us would have preferred had we known so we could have at least helped out in the initial moments."

MORE: What we know about victims of New Orleans truck attack

Bagala shared pictures with ABC7 News that he took on Wednesday. In them, you can see some of the coroner trucks on scene. He says there is still a massive area closed off to the public and the silence is unsettling.

"It was dead quiet, you couldn't hear anything which is so unlike New Orleans, especially on a holiday weekend or during the holiday," he said. "I think the saddest part is watching the actual community here right now. This place was so joyful and excited to bring in the new year just everybody having fun. I mean this town was due to be completely packed this entire week and now the heart of the city has just been carved out."

MORE: What we know about Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspect in the New Orleans attack

Thousands of people are in town for the Sugar Bowl too, now postponed until Thursday.

ABC7 News spoke with Notre Dame tight end Cooper Flanagan's mother Wednesday night. Flanagan is from the Bay Area. She said that her family members were not out when this attack happened. She did say that some fans and family members of players were leaving before the postponed game because they had to get back to work.