An 85-year-old man was apparently killed in a fire that destroyed his house at 1700 Dixon Lane at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Major Lafayette Woods of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
William “Bill” Heath was pronounced dead at the scene by Deputy Coroner Eric Belcher at 12:30 p.m. Dixon Lane is off Pine Cove, which connects to Old Warren Road. The house is about four miles outside of Pine Bluff.
Woods said a passer-by discovered the fire. He said authorities were notified and within “six or seven minutes,” deputies and members of the Highway 15 Volunteer Fire Department arrived and extinguished the fire. No one else was in the residence and there were no related injuries.
“There are no signs or foul play but the matter is still under investigation,” Woods said. “We want to make certain that we know what happened.”