Husband found dead after fire destroys home in north Houston
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Officials confirm a man who was missing after a fire destroyed a home in north Houston overnight has been found dead.
"We were told there was a missing person during the course of the fire and we were searching for the home the whole time and they found him in front of the room there," HFD Chief Eric Hutzley said.
The owner of the home told ABC13 three different families live in the house on East Crosstimbers near Irvington.
The fire started around 2 a.m. Friday. Officials say they arrived at the home within minutes but by then, the house was already engulfed in flames.
It appears five of the six people who live at the home escaped safely.
The wife of the sixth person, the man who died, says a burning candle is to blame for the fire.
"The wife heard the complainant, her husband, yelling there is a fire, so she jumped up, ran into the next bedroom to grabs their 11-year-old son and gets out of the house. She thought her husband was behind her, but as she got outside she could hear him yelling 'help, help," HPD Christopher Elder said.
The man found dead was in his 50s.
Investigators are now turning their focus on the home itself. Police told Eyewitness News that there was no electricity in the home.
"There was no electricity provided, we are not sure why, but that is something we would definitely want it to ask the homeowner," Elder said.
The victims family said they lived in the home for six years without power.
According to the homeowner, she tried to keep the families out of the home but they kept returning.
