Victims identified in deadly Lenoir County fire; cause was electrical

(WITN)
Published: Feb. 21, 2019 at 6:43 AM EST
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Investigators now say an electrical fire killed two people early Thursday in Lenoir County.

Deputies say Roderick Jones, 54, and Rosie Hill, 59, died in the blaze on Maple Grove Drive around 5:00 a.m.

The sheriff's office says no foul play or criminal acts were associated with the fire.

Deputies say they are still waiting for autopsy reports from the medical examiner on a cause of death for Jones and Hill.


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The SBI and the ATF are assisting Lenoir County deputies after two people were found dead in a mobile home that caught fire early this morning.

The mobile home is on Maple Grove Drive, which is off of Pauls Path Road outside of La Grange.

Neighbors say a man and woman lived at the home, but deputies have yet to confirm the names or identities of two victims.

Neighbors say the people who lived in the trailer were quiet and kept to themselves. “I would have friendly conversations with them," Amoni Owens said today. Sometimes, whenever I’m driving to or from work or school or whatnot, I would see them outside and we’ll wave or say hey to each other and whatnot, so we got along pretty well."

Crews from the La Grange Fire Department and North Lenoir Fire & Rescue were called out to the 5:00 a.m. blaze.

“I saw smoke, that’s all I really seen," said Kimberly Vanburen. "What woke me up was the lights, so that’s what I really saw.”

“I was really scared because when I saw how severe it was, the smoke and the fire was like at the front door, so I was like wow, this is really bad,” said Owens.

Deputies say the cause of the fire is still under investigation.