BOSSIER CITY, La. (AP) — Home fires within about 20 miles of each other have killed a man and a woman, both in their 80s. the Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office said Friday.
The office is investigating a house fire Wednesday in Bossier City and a trailer home fire in the nearby Caddo Parish community of Bethany on Saturday, news releases said.
Coroners’ offices are working to confirm the victims’ identities but investigators believe each was the homeowner, the statements said. The man was 81, and the woman would have been 86 years old this week.
Investigators have not yet determined the cause of either fire.
The trailer home fire was reported about 6 p.m. Saturday, and the woman's body was found in the bathroom, the fire marshal's office said. Investigators are still looking into whether an electrical malfunction or an unattended cooking appliance may have been involved.
A neighbor who came to check on the Bossier City man found his body in the living room, where he apparently slept, about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, a news release said. It said the fire broke out in a bathroom at the rear of the home, and smoke traveled throughout the house before debris fell and closed the bathroom door and the fire burned itself out.
Deputies have not ruled out improperly discarded smoking materials as a possible contributing factor, the news release said.