Fires killed two people in separate counties over the weekend, and officials discovered bones at the location of a past fire.
A tip on the Arson Hotline (800-233-3473) led investigators to the first fatality on Saturday, said Courtney Rosemond, a spokeswoman for the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
They found bones in a scorched house, located in the Birch River area of Nicholas County, Rosemond said.
"The actual date of when that structure was burned, we're not really sure," she said. "It was a very remote area."
The fire's cause is undetermined, but someone last saw the home intact about 45 days ago, Rosemond said.
She said an investigation into the fire is ongoing, and the medical examiner's office will analyze the remains.
Firefighters responded to a house fire in McDowell County on Sunday.
Rosemond said the firefighters pulled a woman, age 68, from her burning home in Laeger.
She died on the way to the hospital, Rosemond said. A cooking accident caused the fire.
A third fire took the life of a woman, age 69, in Berkeley County on the same day.
The fire also injured a firefighter, who suffered second-degree burns while inside the Hedgesville home, Rosemond said.
She said investigators had yet to determine the fire's cause as of Monday morning.
Fires claimed the lives of 44 people in West Virginia since Jan. 1, and 58 people last year, according to the fire marshal's office.
Fire-related deaths usually increase between December and February, Rosemond said.
However, she said, a string of such deaths can happen at any time.
"Obviously the colder months, with the heating and things like that, we tend to see more fatalities," she said. "But there's really no rhyme or reason or pattern."
Reach Giuseppe Sabella at giuseppe.sabella@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @Gsabella on Twitter.