In the early morning hours on Tuesday, Webster Parish Sheriff’s dispatchers received calls from residents in the town of Sarepta reporting an explosion. Deputies arrived on scene with Sarepta’s Fire Department to respond to the Thomasville Road home engulfed in flames.

 

Joseph Lane Umphries, 34, a resident in the home, and Christopher Michael Coats, 18, also of Sarepta, were rushed to Springhill Medical Center with serious injuries and were later transported to LSU Medical Center’s Burn Unit.

 

During interviews the men told deputies the incident occurred while they were cooking fish; however, Sheriff’s detectives will conduct a full investigation to determine the specific cause of the explosive blaze. No arrests have been made, but investigators suspect there may be more to the case. 

 

As of Tuesday afternoon, Coats remained in critical condition in LSU Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit with severe widespread burns.