PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Investigators with the West Virginia Fire Marshal’s Office were working with members of the Parkersburg Police Department and Parkersburg Fire Department to determine the cause of a deadly Monday house fire.
Officials said the body of a man, who was not being identified as of Tuesday morning, was found in the home on Polk Street in Parkersburg.
An autopsy for the victim was scheduled in Charleston.
A woman, Linda Carter, 53, made it out of the burning home but was burned on her arm and shoulder, according to Parkersburg Fire Chief Jason Matthews.
“When we arrived on scene, she was there — conscious and alert and talking,” he said.
Carter was later treated at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center.
The fire was reported before 1 p.m. on Monday.
At the single-story home, “We did have heavy fire in the front of the structure,” Matthews said of the fire that was in two rooms, at that time, a living room and a bedroom.
Matthews said investigators were able to pinpoint the starting point for the fire was just inside the bedroom doorway.
The house was described as “a total loss.”
Earlier in the day, before the fire, the Parkersburg Police Department had been sent to the same home for a welfare check.
“That’s something that we’re working with the police department with, just to see what exactly was going on prior to (the fire),” Chief Matthews said.
“We’ll look at all avenues and gather all the information before we determine a cause.”