ALEXANDRIA – A residential fire in Alexandria at 11 p.m. Saturday, February 29, claimed the life of a 48-year-old woman and her three grandchildren.
The grandmother, identified as Verlana Cooper, 48, was a former resident of Oberlin. She perished in the early morning fire in the 3400 block of Wainwright Street, along with her three grandchildren: Jadyn Cooper, 7; Brooklyn Cooper, 4; and Drya Reign Russaw, four months old.
Oberlin Police Chief Grady said, “I didn’t know her very well. She lived here in Oberlin in her dad’s house on Sixth Street after he passed.”
Fire investigators said the alarm sounded at 11:46 p.m. Saturday night. As firefighters arrived, about half the house was in flames and had broken through the windows.
Investigators said the home did not have working smoking detectors.
Alexandria Fire Chief Larry King said the department might have more information to release about the fire later this week, according to statements he made to local media.
Investigators are waiting for autopsy results and other lab tests before announcing how the fire started, the city said in a news release Monday. Those tests typically take a couple of days to complete. An official cause is not expected until later this week.
The Alexandria Police Department, Rapides Parish District Attorney’s Office and Louisiana Office of the State Fire Marshal also are involved in the investigation, which is continuing.
