(WWJ) An elderly man who lived alone died in a house fire in Flat Rock, investigators said, and they're still trying to determine a cause.
Firefighters were called just before 2 a.m. to the home on Matilda Avenue, near Telegraph and Vreeland roads.
When they arrived, firefighters said they found the home engulfed in flames.
The victim, a 69-year-old man, was found dead in the aftermath.
Neighbor Lori Hawley told WWJ 950's Mike Campbell she was alerted to the blaze when her dog started barking. Her husband ran outside to try to help, but it wasn't possible.
"He wasn't able to get near the house, it was already too engulfed in flames," Hawley said.
Flat Rock Mayor Mark Hammond, a former firefighter, told WDIV-TV, it's "probably one of the worst case scenarios as a firefighter you're going to face ... One, you want to save lives. That's what we all go to school for, that's what we train for, that's what we're here for. We want to make sure people get out, and when you are trying to rescue somebody it's very frustrating when you can't."
