BATON ROUGE (January 14, 2026) – The Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal (SFM) is investigating two fatal home fires over the past few days.
In the afternoon hours of, Sunday, January 11, the Sarepta Fire Department responded to a house fire in the 300 block of Denmon Road. The sole resident, a 77-year-old man, did not survive the fire.
The next day, around 8 p.m., the Jonesville Fire Department responded to a house fire in the 1000 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard. There, a 76-year-old woman did not survive.
While both of these investigations are still ongoing, at this time, deputies have been unable to rule out the possibility of electrical-related contributing factors.
Due to these circumstances, the SFM wants to remind Louisiana families about the importance of electrical safety:
- Avoid overloading power strips including plugging in high-wattage appliances like space heaters
- Do not connect multiple extension cords to create non-traditional power sources
- Only use extension cords for temporary/short-term purposes
And, once again, neither of these homes had working smoke alarms.
“It is critical that the people of Louisiana understand how much of a difference smoke alarms can make when it comes to surviving a fire. It’s not the flames that kill; it’s the smoke,” said DPS Principal Assistant, Chief Bryan J Adams, “Smoke alarms give families time to know there’s an emergency and to react quickly to escape safely.”
Families are urged to check their smoke alarms to ensure they’re working and to change the batteries if alarms are chirping. If your family does not have smoke alarms and cannot afford them, the SFM’s Operation Save-A-Life can help. For more information about fire safety or to request a free smoke alarm installation, visit lasfm.org or contact your local fire department.
