July 22, 2001

PRESS RELEASE

To: Newsroom

For Immediate Release

Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Public Information Officer

Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2609, page: 675-2137

Man Dies in House Fire

■ Fire believed to be electrical

A mentally ill Shreveport man died last night in a house fire at 2037 Millen Circle. Six other people, including four children, ages 10 to 13, were all able to escaped without injury. Shreveport firefighters received the call just after 2:00 a.m. reporting the house on fire and that someone was trapped inside. When crews arrived from the nearby MLK and David Raines station, fire and smoke could be seen billowing from the front and north side of the residence.

Firefighter’s immediately attacked the fire in an aggressive rescue effort by going through the front door of the home. Once inside crews found heavy smoke conditions and the fire itself contained to a single bedroom in the northwest corner of the residence. Firefighters then knocked down the fire with a hose line enough to enter the room where they found the victim, 50-year-old Ferrell Aborn. Firefighter Keith Campbell, a three year veteran of the department, was on the initial rescue effort and said by the time they reached Aborn it was to late. "When we entered the house the entire room that the victim was in was already rolling in fire," said Campbell.

Clark Howard, 38, who’s wife was Aborn’s aunt, was in the house at the time of the fire and said the he was awoken by the screams of Aborn. "I heard him screaming and ran through the living room to get to his bedroom but the fire was already to intense to get to him," said Howard, who then called 911. When questioned about any impairments that may have hampered Aborn’s ability to escape the fire, Howard told fire officials that he (Aborn) suffered from mental illness.

Fire investigators are still looking into the cause of the deadly blaze but preliminary findings indicate that an electrical cord from a window air conditioning unit may have been the culprit. They are awaiting test results before releasing an official finding. The death marks the first fire fatality in Shreveport this year. The home had no smoke detectors. ###