One person is dead after a camper went up in flames near 7th and Bedford in Porter Saturday night, and Wagoner County authorities say they are now treating the blaze as a criminal investigation. The fire broke out around 8 p.m., and by the time fire crews reached the scene, the camper was already fully engulfed.
Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott confirmed the death, according to a report from 2 News Oklahoma KJRH. The outlet reported that when fire crews arrived at the scene near 7th and Bedford, the camper was already fully engulfed in flames, leaving little chance to intervene before the fire did its damage.
Authorities have not released the identity of the person who died. According to the same report, officials are waiting to notify next of kin before releasing any details about who was inside the camper when it burned.
Deputies Treat Blaze as a Crime Scene
Beyond the loss of life, what has shifted this from a routine fire call to an active criminal case is the determination by authorities that the fire warrants a criminal investigation, per the report. Wagoner County deputies are continuing to investigate, though no further details about potential causes or suspects have been made public.
Despite the gravity of the case, Sheriff Elliott said he believes the fire represents an isolated incident, the station's report notes, rather than part of any broader pattern of danger in the Porter area. No other details about what led investigators to classify the fire as criminal have been disclosed.
Not the First Fatal Fire in Wagoner County This Year
The Porter fire adds to a string of deadly fires that have struck Wagoner County in recent memory. A fire in the Toppers lakeside community killed an infant and sent three other family members to the hospital early one Friday, according to Tulsa World.
In a separate case, Tulsa World also reported that the deaths of two people found inside a burned mobile home in the county's Lake Crest area were considered suspicious by authorities, who said at the time that they were still investigating the cause of that fire. It remains unclear whether that case has since been resolved.
For now, the Porter case remains open, with deputies continuing to piece together what happened near 7th and Bedford as the community awaits word on the identity of the person who died.
