CENTRAL - State officials are pointing to a simple but life-saving solution after seeing an increase in fire-related deaths.

Central firefighters responded to a Sunday morning house fire that killed one person and injured two others.

"The crews did what they are trained to do and went to work, found the victim, and got him out. It's my understanding that the victim unfortunately passed away at the hospital. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family," Captain Andrew Templeton said.

Officials said there were no smoke detectors in the home. 

Sunday morning's fire was the 20th fire-related death in the first 47 days of 2025. Of those, only one home had a reportable working smoke detector.

"It does us no good to have 30,000 smoke detectors on the shelf. We need them in people's houses,” St. Amant Fire Chief James LeBlanc said. "It breaks your heart, whenever you wake up and you hear of a fire that took place somewhere in the state of Louisiana and a person lost their life."

In 2024, the state counted 70 fire-related deaths and only four working smoke detectors involved. With these startling numbers, the State Fire Marshal is alerting the public to install these life-saving devices. 

Lowe's recently donated more than 30,000 smoke detectors for the Fire Marshal's Office to distribute across the state.

"We have to do something in the state of Louisiana to stop this upward trend of deaths that are occurring in people's houses with no working smoke detectors. We have them. There's no reason they shouldn't be in your homes. We don't need them sitting on the shelf," LeBlanc said.

Smoke detectors are available for free at any fire department. If you are unable to pick up and install a smoke detector, firefighters will come to your home to help.