Louisiana’s Heartbreaking Fire Deaths, Fires Ravage Cities: Chief Urges Vigilance

Officials with the Louisiana State Fire Marshal's Office say it's been a deadly week in Louisiana as three different house fires have taken multiple lives. Chief Bryan J. Adams said deadly fires happened in three cities on January 6.

Officials believe the fires this week likely were caused by the use of space heaters, but that's only a preliminary evaluation. Investigators will continue looking into each case of fire.

Four lives were cut short just after 4 a.m. in Winnsboro on Monday, January 6, after a fire swept through a family home on Willow Street. State Fire Marshal's spokeswoman Ashley Rodrigue says children perished in the fire.

At around 5 o'clock that morning in Abbeville, Rodrigue says a life was lost as a fire engulfed a home on East Oak Street. Two hours after the deadly fire in Abbeville, another life was lost in a Shreveport house fire on Norton Street.

Adams says,

Louisiana, we have to take all fire dangers seriously and act as if it can happen to every one of us at any time because it can.

This also comes on the heels of other fire deaths earlier this year. One person died in a house fire in Church Point on January 2, one person died in Abbeville also on January 2, and one person died in a house fire on January 4 in New Orleans.

Multiple preventative measures can be taken to try to avoid a fire in your home, and the Chief outlines them as follows:

• Make sure you have a working smoke alarm
• Never use your stove or oven to heat your home
• If you have a fire in your fireplace or a candle burning, never leave those unattended 
• A space heater should never be placed where objects are closer than 3 to 5 feet, as they can catch fire
• Never leave a space heater on all night, or if you leave the room 
• You should plug your space heater directly into the wall outlet; never use a power strip or extension cord

Smoke alarms are critical to helping someone save their life and the lives of family members. The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness shared this on X before this cold snap started:

The program can help install a free smoke alarm, and he encourages anyone who needs to visit lasfm.org. If you want to learn more about Operation Save-A-Life, you can click here.

In addition to these resources, Chief Adams recommends contacting your local fire department for help securing a smoke alarm.