CCFD Asst. Chief Tony Perez told 3NEWS that the cause and origin of the Wednesday morning fire that killed one person is under investigation.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A fire on Wednesday morning claimed the life of one person, according to Corpus Christi Fire Department Assistant Chief Tony Perez.

RELATED: Nueces County issues burn ban effective immediately as drought conditions raise fire risk

“The cause and origin of the fire is still under investigation at this time,” Perez told 3NEWS.



This story continues below.

The fire occurred on the 3200 block of Montebello Drive just off of N. Oso Parkway in Southside Corpus Christi. 

“Early this morning our crews responded to a structure fire on the southside of town — a residence,” Perez said. “Our crews responded and they came across a working structure fire. The fire itself wound up being confined to room and contents, but we did have a civilian fatality that was involved with this fire. Two of our investigators responded to the scene, and there is an investigation into the cause and origin.”

Two people were in the home at the time, according to Perez. The surviving individual called emergency services when they heard a smoke alarm. CCFD crews responded quickly, and put out the fire swiftly, but one person was found dead in the home. 

“It doesn’t always work out in our favor. This fire was put out in about 15 minutes — very quickly — We do everything we can on every fire, and really, every incident, regardless of what it is. We treat every incident like an emergency because you never know what the result will be. We do the best we can.”

Smoke alarms played a huge role in preventing spread of the fire, Perez stressed. 

“They worked, they notified a resident, and that was early notification for us so we could get there,” Perez said. “And that’s probably why there wasn’t more extensive damage.”

He said that if your detector is hardwired into a home that is more than 10 years old, you should check to see if your smoke detector needs replacement. If you use a battery operated model, “the life of the smoke detector is the battery life”, according to Perez. 

“Early notification is key on residential fires,” he said. “Smoke detectors are a big deal. You’ve gotta make sure they work.”

This is a developing story. We will provide updates as more information becomes available.