Just before 6:00a.m. this morning, neighbors reported smoke and flames coming from a single-family home located in the 17300 block of NW Meadow Grass Drive in unincorporated Washington County in Bethany. When neighbors tried to alert the occupant, they were met with thick black smoke and confirmed the interior of the home was on fire.

Firefighters responding to the scene found the home filled with smoke with fire near the back of the home. The first crew from TVF&R’s Somerset fire station arrived within six minutes of being dispatched and quickly began extinguishing the fire. At the same time, they searched for possible victims. Within minutes, they located a body. Sadly, when they found the body, it was not viable. Due to privacy rules, we are unable to release information about the person found. No other occupants were found in the home.

A fire investigator is working to determine the cause of the fire and a Washington County medical examiner will verify the cause of death. Washington County Sheriff’s Office is supporting the investigation and provided traffic control during the fire.

Neighbors did not recall hearing smoke alarms at the time of the fire. When a working smoke alarm is present, the likelihood of injuries and costly damage is dramatically reduced.  The home was not equipped with a residential fire sprinkler system. More information about fire sprinkler systems and smoke alarms can be found at www.tvfr.com.