By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• Newly released video and investigative records highlight delays and possible missed rescue actions in a Shreveport, Louisiana, house fire that killed four people.
• The April 6, 2025, fire on Kemp Lane claimed the lives of an 84-year-old woman, her adult granddaughter and two young granddaughters.
• Fire department records show initial crews knocked down visible flames but did not immediately enter for search and rescue.
• Additional units found four unresponsive victims inside about 12 minutes after the first engine company arrived.
• Families have filed wrongful death lawsuits alleging response and communication issues contributed to the fatalities.
SHREVEPORT, LA — Video and investigative records released amid ongoing wrongful death litigation show potential response delays and search challenges by firefighters at a deadly house fire in April 2025 that killed four family members, according to local reports.
The blaze on Kemp Lane was reported about 6:41 a.m. on April 6, and Engine 6 of the Shreveport Fire Department arrived just over two minutes later to find flames showing on the front of the home, records indicate.
Video from the scene shows firefighters quickly deploying a hose line, but investigators noted the crew did not immediately make a rescue entry despite flames and reports of occupants inside, according to obtained interviews.
Additional units from another station entered the structure at about 6:55 a.m. and located four unresponsive victims near the front entrance, some 12 minutes after the initial crew’s arrival. The victims were removed and transported to medical personnel, but all later died from their injuries.
Family members of the victims have filed two wrongful death lawsuits against the City of Shreveport, the former fire captain and the fire department, alleging that delays in search efforts and communication breakdowns contributed to the fatalities.
Investigators have reviewed bodycam video, internal interviews and other records; officials have not publicly released final findings or determined whether procedural changes will follow.