NEW IBERIA, La. (KLFY) — Louisiana State Fire Marshal deputies are investigating a mobile home fire that claimed the life of a 74-year-old woman Monday morning in the 5200 block of Norris Rd.

Firefighters found her body near the back door of the mobile home. Official identification and cause of death are pending an Iberia Parish Coroner’s Office autopsy.

The fire occurred around 9 a.m. Monday morning when a fire broke out in the living room of the home in a window A/C unit. One of the home’s occupants tried to put the fire out with a water hose. This was unsuccessful. The man also tried to reach his mother in the rear of the home, but was unable to after the ceiling fell in. When firefighters arrived, the man alerted them that his mother was still inside the home.

The exact cause of the fire remains undetermined, though marshal’s deputies are not ruling out possible electrical malfunction of the A/C unit, which had recently been installed.

The SFM would like to remind residents that you should never reenter a burning structure for anything or anyone. In addition, the agency is reiterating the importance of working smoke alarms in giving residents critical seconds to escape a fire unharmed. If you cannot access smoke alarms, visit lasfm.org to learn more about Operation Save-A-Life which is a partnership between the SFM and local fire departments to install free smoke alarms in homes across the state.