Copperas Cove man dead after Friday morning house fire

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press

One man is dead after an early morning fire in the 100 block of January Street in Copperas Cove last Friday morning.

Per the Copperas Cove Fire Department, they received an alarm at approximately 7:08 a.m. that morning, with three fire engines, one ambulance, the shift supervisor, the fire chief, and several police officers responding. The first arriving firefighters found smoke emitting from an upstairs portion of the home, and were told that two residents were still inside, upstairs. 

The department immediately requested mutual aid assistance Fort Hood Fire Department for a Fire Engine and Fort Hood EMS for one ambulance.

“One resident was assisted out of an upstairs window by a neighbor and law enforcement personnel near the time that fire department units were arriving at the scene. Upon entry, responding firefighters initiated a search for the other resident while simultaneous work was performed to extinguish the fire,” stated Deputy Fire Chief Gary Young.

“The upstairs was heavily charged with smoke which caused a complete loss of visibility.  The other resident was eventually found after a lengthy search and was immediately removed from the residence and moved instantly to an awaiting ambulance.”

The resident was transported to AdventHealth Hospital in Killeen where he was later deemed to have not survived.  

It took approximately 30 minutes to get the fire under control, with the residence sustaining heavy flame and smoke damage to the entire upstairs of the home. 

A total of three permanent residents and three pets, along with one visiting relative, were displaced due to the fire.

One of the residents, a femeale in her 50s according to family friends, was transported and treated for smoke inhalation, first to AdventHealth in Killeen and then to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for specific care in the burn center there.

Also during the incident, one firefighter was transported to AdventHealth for assessment, Young said.

The Copperas Cove Fire Department encountered a number of challenges for service during this particular incident last week.

“Seven other medical incidents occurred which required the fire department to request mutual aid from Fort Hood EMS twice, and Killeen Fire Department EMS once, as well as the two Copperas Cove ambulances responding on back-to-back emergency incidents including the transport of our firefighter,” Young said in an email. “We experienced some lengthy delays in EMS responses because the ambulances were responding from Fort Hood and Killeen respectively as well as the back-to-back turnaround responses from the hospital back to Copperas Cove by our EMS crews.”