Fire Claims Lives of Elderly Couple

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX - This morning, the Fire Department was dispatched to a call for service at an apartment in the 3300 block of Olsen Drive. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered an undetected blaze had occurred overnight in the back of the structure. An elderly couple, both 81 years old, was found deceased.

Fire Investigators and the Corpus Christi Police Department were called to the scene. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental. The apartment did not have working smoke alarms. So far in 2017, the Fire Department reports a total of six fire fatalities have occurred in Corpus Christi.

According to the National Fire Protection Association:

•Three out of five home fire deaths occur in properties without working smoke alarms

•More than a third (38 percent) of home fire deaths occur in homes without smoke alarms

•The risk of dying in a house fire is decreased by 50% in homes equipped with working smoke alarms

Fire Chief Robert Rocha reminds all residents about the importance of having working smoke alarms in every home. If you own and reside in a house here in Corpus Christi, the Fire Department has a free smoke alarm installation program. If you are a renter, it is the landlord's responsibility to install working smoke alarms. For information on the smoke alarm program call 361-826-8423 or 361-826-1104.  For additional information contact Captain James Brown at 361-826-8423 or at jamesb@cctexas.com.