UPDATE (05/31/2023): According to the State Fire Marshal, deputies have concluded their investigation into the Monroe duplex fire that claimed the life of a disabled woman.
On Friday, May 26, 2023, around 11 AM, the Ouachita Parish Fire Department responded to a reported duplex fire in the 200 block of Clayton Drive in Monroe. When firefighters arrived, one unit of the duplex was engulfed in flames. One victim was later found in a bedroom.
At this time, the identity of the victim and cause of death are still pending. An autopsy by the Ouachita Parish Coroner’s Office uncovered that the victim is believed to be a 64-year-old female resident of the home.
The fire is believed to have started in the bed where the victim was recovering from recent surgery. Although an exact cause has yet to be determined, deputies are not ruling out the possibility that unsafe smoking practices contributed. According to reports from relatives of the victim, she was on oxygen therapy and would often smoke while in bed. Deputies were also unable to locate any working smoke alarms in her home.
OUACHITA PARISH, La. (KTVE/KARD) — State Fire Marshal deputies were dispatched to the scene of a duplex fire in Monroe that left one person dead. The Ouachita Parish Fire Department responded to a reported fire in a duplex unit on the 200 block of Clayton Drive. Unfortunately, firefighters uncovered the body of a disabled woman inside the duplex.
The investigation remains ongoing at this time, but there is a possibility that smoking while using medical oxygen was the cause of the fire. This is the second fatal fire in a little more than 24 hours involving smoking and medical oxygen.