IBERIA PARISH - Officials say an elderly man lost his life in a tragic Iberia Parish residential fire over the weekend.

According to the Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal (SFM), deputies have concluded their investigation into a camper trailer fire that claimed the life of an 81-year-old Sunset man on Saturday morning.

Authorities say it was around 8 a.m. that the New Iberia Fire Department responded to a call for a camper trailer fire located in the 1700 block of Juanita Street. They add that a relative discovered the victim and remnants of a fire when bringing the occupant breakfast.

While official identification and cause of death are pending an autopsy, the victim is believed to be the camper owner who had traveled from his property in Sunset to the relative’s property in New Iberia due to the winter weather threat across the state.

After an assessment of the scene, deputies determined the fire originated in the camper’s water pump compartment.

The cause of the fire has been determined as an electrical malfunction of the camper’s water pump that led to the pump overheating and catching fire, which resulted in smoke spreading throughout the camper, investigators say.

According to officials, it is believed that despite the fire self-extinguishing, the man was overcome by the smoke while he was sleeping, resulting in his death.

Deputies were able to locate a smoke alarm in the camper, but it did not activate.