November 5, 2003

PRESS RELEASE
To: Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Asst. to the Fire Chief
Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2411, page: 675-2137

Morning House Fire Claims Two Children

Two children were killed in an early morning house fire in Shreveport, LA., Wednesday, November 5 . . .

The home, in the 4100 block on St. Vincent Avenue, had 14 people (7 children) inside at the time of the fire (5:15 a.m.). Many were forced to jump from second floor windows as the entire wooden, balloon framed structure became engulfed in flames in what eye witnesses describe as a matter of minutes.

The exact cause of the fire is under investigation by the Shreveport Fire Department and State Fire Marshall's Office but is believed to have originated in a first floor utility room. The two children who perished were six (6) and nine (9) years old and were too scared to jump before firefighters arrived on the scene and recessed back into their rooms on the second floor where, after a valiant rescue effort by firefighters, their bodies were discovered. ###