Lakeview Fire chief discusses fatal house fire
LAKEVIEW, Ala. (WBRC) - Lakeview firefighters tell WBRC that the state fire marshal is investigating the fire that killed one person on Royal Drive Tuesday evening, Jan. 20.
Dozens of first responders from several departments helped fight the fire.
Firefighters say there were a total of six people in the home. One person died and five were injured. Right now the medical examiner has not released the victim’s identity.
An unspeakable grief for a family.
“Considering the amount of fire inside, we were not able to get inside,” said Lakeview Fire Chief Tyler Doyle.
Once on the scene, the chief says there were five people outside, but one remain trapped inside near a bedroom. Doyle believes the people impacted were a mix of family and friends.
“The cause is still under investigation, so there’s no real leads at this point. It’s still very early on, so everything is under investigation,” Doyle said.
Investigators with the state fire marshal’s office were on the scene Wednesday, Jan. 21, beginning the process of determining just that; what started the fire and why did it spread so quickly.
The chief says it took about two hours to tame the fire and the house is destroyed.
“Just how far the fire was along on arrival. With how far and fully developed the fire was, it prevented us from making entry to try to get in there due to collapses and floors being burnt through,” said Doyle.
Investigators for now haven’t released the medical conditions on the five who escaped. Firefighters will get a debrief following the tragedy as they process their own emotions.
“We can work with our guys. We do critical stress debriefing and we also offer like employer assistance and therapy if need be,” said Doyle.
Doyle says for now he’s not sure if the home had active smoke or fire alarms. The injured were taken to local hospitals by ambulance, a helicopter and private vehicles, according to the chief.
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