The Beaumont Enterprise
PORT ARTHUR, Texas — While four people died in an early morning Port Arthur duplex garage apartment fire, a teenager managed to escape, said firefighters who remain on the scene.
The fire, which caused the structure to collapse, occurred about 4:30 a.m. in the 1800 block of Fourth Avenue.
Those who died were identified as Louversie “Lou” Hill, 67; Rodney Mitchell Sr.; Regina Cole; and Cole’s teenage son, Tony Cole.
Hill was in her unit, and Mitchell, his teenage son, Cole and her son were in the other unit when the fire occured, Assistant Fire Marshal Paul Washburn said.
He said that Mitchell’s son escaped and went to a neighbor’s home to call 911.
Autopsies will be performed to determine a cause of death.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined and it remains under investigation, Washburn said.
Beaumont and Port Neches firefighters and Port Arthur police officers also responded to the fire.
Copyright 2009 The Beaumont Enterprise