A couple from Montgomery County, Maryland, who were killed in a house fire while vacationing in North Carolina's Outer Banks met each other later in life and loved going to the beach together, a family member says.
Colleen Cohan, 64, and her husband Bill Deeg, 68, of Ashton, were finishing up a two-week stay at the beach house they rented in Kill Devil Hills when a fire consumed the house early Friday morning, killing them.
Cienna Farr, 13, also died in the fire. Farr's mother, Laura Volk, her 16-year-old sister and Volk's boyfriend, David Brewer, were also staying at the home and were injured in the fire.
Volk and Brewer were flown to a hospital burn unit and were stable on Monday. The 16-year-old girl was taken to a hospital and released.
Family said Cohan and Deeg enjoyed vacationing on the beach.
“They loved to go to the beach. They'd go to the beach up and down the coast a couple of times a year," Cohan's brother Sean Cohan said.
Cohan and Deeg met each other later in life and got married in 2018, he said.
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Sean Cohan said his sister Colleen was an attorney for Cigna Healthcare and was a huge sports fan.
“She loved to laugh. …very energetic at a party, loved being with people and laughing and loved hosting parties, loved to cook. She would make big breakfasts when we all got together," he said.
“She was a big advocate for … all the underdogs, period. She was always looking out for every stray dog that walked down the street she picked up," said Peggy Mann Sweeney, a close friend of Colleen Cohan.
Deeg had recently retired after a long career at Trader Joe's, Sean Cohan said. Brewer was one of Deeg's coworkers at Trader Joe's, he said.
Sean Cohan said police in Kill Devil Hills told him they don't know what started the fire that engulfed the home on North Virginia Dare Trail.
The four-bedroom home was built in 1948 and was historically designated, authorities said.
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“Our hearts are with David and the Volks and their recovery, mentally and physically," Sean Cohan said.
Fire investigators still haven't said if the home had working smoke detectors.
