Fire that killed 4 may be tied to generator use after Hurricane Laura, officials say
Four family members are dead after a blaze tore through a home that was using a generator after Hurricane Laura, officials say.
Six people were at a trailer home when occupants heard a popping noise and noticed the electricity go out on Friday night, the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal said in a Facebook post. As smoke started to fill the trailer, three people were able to escape, according to officials.
A 57-year-old who got out of the home decided to go back in to try to save others. The man and three of his relatives — ages 54, 31 and 19 — were killed in the blaze, officials say.
The state fire marshal’s office as of Saturday said “official identifications and causes of death are pending autopsies.”
Firefighters say the blaze happened in Hornbeck, a town in Vernon Parish and roughly 85 miles north of Lake Charles.
Though officials haven’t determined an official cause, they say the fire was “likely electrical in nature.”
“Investigators are looking into several recent issues with the electrical system in the trailer, including a concerning reaction that followed the family connecting a generator directly into their electrical outlets when Hurricane Laura knocked power out to the area,” officials wrote Saturday in their Facebook post. “It was also reported that the family had turned their heater on (Friday) night for the first time this fall season.”
Laura brought heavy rain and powerful winds when it hit the Gulf Coast as a Category 4 hurricane in August, according to the National Weather Service. The deadly storm damaged power lines and the “backbone to Louisiana’s power grid,” leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity, CNN reported.
After that storm, state officials warned against putting generators inside structures and plugging them directly into wall outlets. Instead, residents were advised to “use a heavy-duty, outdoor extension cord to plug appliances into generators,” according to a news release from the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal.
The trailer home that recently burned didn’t have working smoke detectors, which officials say can alert residents to potential dangers.
“The loss of these four family members is tragic in so many ways,” State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning said in his agency’s Facebook post. “We want Louisiana residents to realize the significance of having smoke alarms when a fire emergency occurs, no matter the cause.”
Browning in the post also urged people to make sure their heating systems work well before use.
