Photo credit: Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal
An 11-year-old Richland Parish boy was killed in a Christmas morning house fire.
Firefighters were called out to the burning home in Rayville at around 9:00 Wednesday morning.
Two people made it out, but the 11-year-old boy didn’t.
“State Fire Marshal deputies have determined the fire started in the bedroom where the victim was found,” says Rusty Edwards, assistant chief with the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal. “The cause of this fire remains under investigation at this time; however, some of the possible causes being considered are an electrical malfunction within the home’s wiring and/or a space heater potentially placed too closely to materials that can easily catch fire.”
Investigators say the home did not have working smoke detectors, and Edwards says that made the difference between life and death.
“Unfortunately, even though most of the occupants were awake at the time of the fire, a working smoke alarm could have warned them even sooner of the fire emergency in the home,” says Edwards.
Edwards says for anyone who doesn’t have working smoke alarms in his or her home, there is assistance available.
“If you need assistance obtaining smoke alarms for your home, Operation Save-A-Life can help especially following the large influx of alarms to the program as part of a historic donation from Lowe’s and First Alert.”
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