NTSB Probes Deadly Oklahoma House Fire; Gas Pipeline Involved

The National Transportation Safety Board has announced that it is investigating a house fire that killed four people, including two firefighters, in the northwestern part of the state.

The agency launched the investigation because the fire on Jan. 29 involved a natural gas pipeline, spokesman Peter Knudson said. The NTSB investigates pipeline accidents, he said.

The blaze was reported just after 3 a.m. Friday in Waynoka, about 110 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, Assistant Oklahoma State Fire Marshal James Fullingim said.

The fire was reported by a person reportedly trapped in a bedroom of the home, Fullingim said, and two firefighters who arrived at the scene entered the home and found a man and woman in the bedroom.

The four died as the firefighters tried to remove the occupants from the home.

“We don’t know exactly what happened,” Fullingim said. “One firefighter was trying to locate an exit route out of the house.”

The names of the four were not immediately released. Fullingim said both firefighters were male and the two inside the home were a male and a female.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, Fullingim said.