The person who perished in a fire early Tuesday in Duluth’s Lakeside neighborhood was believed to have been the homeowner, said neighbors, who described him as well-liked but little-known.
“He was a nice person, but we seldom saw him,” said Ann Davidson, 79, who lives two doors to the west of the home that burned at 4516 Cooke St.
Duluth Fire Department crews responded to the fire at midnight and remained on the scene well into the morning, having battled the fire overnight.
During suppression efforts, firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to aid in locating the victim, who was found unconscious in the home and brought outside, the Duluth Fire Department reported in a news release.
“He was given the best of life-saving efforts but he succumbed to the effects of the fire,” authorities said.
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Neighbors said the owner of the burned home lived alone and that it was his Chevy Trailblazer parked on the street in front of the house. Public records list the home as being owned by a man who is about 60 years old.
The identity of the victim was not immediately released by authorities. Fire Marshal Marnie Grondahl has scheduled a news conference for this morning to provide more details on the fire; check duluthnewstribune.com for updates.
By mid-morning Tuesday, firefighters were screwing boards over windows of the burned home and conducting other duties while neighbor Jacob Potter described the fire.
“It was big,” said the 18-year-old Potter, who lives with his parents directly across the street. “It looked like it was all coming from inside.”
The fire “traveled throughout the home causing very extensive fire and smoke damage,” the fire department reported.
Justin Aleshire, 33, lives directly to the east of the home.
“We could smell it,” he said, but described thinking nothing of it at first. Until Aleshire and his roommate were told to evacuate, Aleshire was in the basement and thought it was another of the regular bonfires held by certain other residents of the neighborhood. Aleshire watched for a couple hours, he said, before being allowed to return to his home.
“I’ve never talked to the guy,” he said. “I’ve seen him maybe five times.”
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The house that burned sits among rows of modest and well-kept homes in the neighborhood, and was the exception for featuring curling and deteriorating shingles on its roof.
The neighborhood was mostly quiet by morning’s light, the hum of two fire engines filling the void. A lingering stench of smoke moved through the streets on the wind. Firefighters were entering and exiting through a front door entry that was so charred and distorted it looked like the entrance to a cave.
Potter’s parents woke him and he said he watched as firefighters worked from the roof, the street and also attacked the blaze from the alley during the early-morning hours.
Damage to the home is estimated at $150,000, the fire department said. There were no firefighter injuries. The fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire.
It’s the fourth fatal fire in the area this month; fires earlier this month in Normanna Township, Hermantown and north of Cloquet each claimed a life. There also was a fatal fire in Mountain Iron in January.
“It’s just very sad,” Davidson said. “There have been so many of these house fires lately.”
