DANVILLE, Va. – Danville Fire Marshall Shelby Irving has determined that a fatal fire on Oakland Ave. was caused by “improper use of heating equipment.” Neighbors said the couple used a wood stove for heat.

The fire destroyed a single-story home at 18 Oakland Ave. and claimed the lives of Wesley P. Delaney, 62, and his wife, 51-year-old Dawn Marie Delaney. The victims were transferred to the State of Virginia Medical Examiner’s office in Roanoke.

Danville firefighters responded to a call of a structure fire just before 4 a.m. Monday and found the house fully involved. The flames were too intense to enter the structure and the bodies were recovered from the rubble.

It is not known if the house had smoke detectors.

Meanwhile, there was another fatal fire in South Boston on Tuesday.

South Boston fire officials received the call around noon Tuesday and responded to a two-story frame house on Crawley Ave. in South Boston.

Heavy flames were visible when the first units arrived and crews could not enter the home until the fire was contained. The back of the house was gutted by fire.

While crews worked to put out the fire, they found the body of 75-year-old Carolyn Edmondson who lived at the home on 1929 Crawley Avenue.

Edmondson’s body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke to determine the cause of death.