Firefighters Investigate Cause Of Deadly House Fire

KITTREDGE, Colo. (CBS4)- Firefighters are investigating what caused a deadly house fire in Kittredge overnight.

Jefferson County Firefighters and Evergreen Fire Rescue crews rushed to 26180 Kingsbury Road at about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday to find flames burning out of three sides of the duplex.

"They were both inside the house when the fire started," said Evergreen Fire Rescue Doug Saba. "He yelled up to her to get out of the house, 'The house is on fire!'"

Fire investigators said he stayed inside to save the couple's animals. The family dog was saved. It's not clear if that's because of the actions of the victim, a man in his 60s.

Firefighters found his body just after midnight Thursday.

"I opened the door and there were flames coming out of the back of the house and there was a lot of smoke," said neighbor Mary Murphy. "It was horrible. I was so afraid that the fire was going to spread."

Fire crews had to let the fire burn because it was so hot.

"They went defensive at the beginning and then offensive once they were able to knock down some of the flames," said Saba.

Investigators from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation searched the home. A K-9 unit was brought in to rule out foul play.

Fire investigators have started their search of the home to determine whether the fire was accidental. The victim's wife is staying with relatives.