A Louisiana woman died in a fire at her home early Sunday (Nov. 22).
Fire Chief Mike Lesley identified the victim as Bert Lenz. The state fire marshal said the blaze started around a couch in the living room and ruled it accidental due to smoking materials.
There were no other injuries. Lenz was alone in the house at the corner of Forest Hills Drive and Center Place just north of Pike County Memorial Hospital on the west side of Louisiana.
Lesley said the home was fully engulfed in flames when his department arrived after getting the alarm at 5 a.m. The fire was contained two hours later. Lesley said he appreciated the assistance by crews from Buffalo Township and Pleasant Hill.
Funeral arrangements were pending. It is Louisiana’s first fire fatality since three-year-old Riley Miller died in a blaze at his Main Street home on October 31 of 2013. That case has prompted an ongoing wrongful death lawsuit.