Two dead in early morning Lafayette fire
LAFAYETTE — Two people died in an early morning fire in the 1000 block of East Pinhook Road, a Lafayette fire official said.
Firefighters were called at 7:14 a.m. to respond to the blaze at 1006 East Pinhook Road, which claimed the lives of a man and woman inside the home, said Alton Trahan, spokesman for the Lafayette Fire Department.
The fire originated in one of the home’s two bedrooms, Trahan said.
Trahan identified the victims as Allen Potier Jr., 55, of Lafayette, and Patricia Ingram, 53, of California.
Ingram had been living in Lafayette for at least 15 years, Trahan said.
The couple were not married, but they had been living together for many years, Trahan said.
Potier’s nephew, Keith Joseph, described his uncle as a caring man who had spent nearly all of his years in retirement doing community work.
Joseph called his uncle “a good person.” He said he did not know Ingram well.
When the Fire Department arrived, firefighters found heavy smoke and flames coming from the rear of the structure, Trahan said in a news release Friday.
Two witnesses tried to enter the front of the home, but the heat and smoke were too intense, Trahan said.
Firefighters found Potier in the living room and Ingram in one of the home’s two bedrooms.
It took firefighters about 10 minutes to get the fire under control, Trahan said.
The fire originated in a the home’s second bedroom and was caused by an electrical short in an extension cord, which was being used to supply power to a window air conditioner, Trahan said.
“The extension cord shorted out in the room, igniting combustible materials stacked nearby,” Trahan wrote.
The fire was determined to be accidental, Trahan said.