By Jami Ganz
New York Daily News
MELVILLE, N.Y. — A man is dead following a fire that overtook a Long Island residence early Tuesday, requiring nearly 100 firefighters to put out the blaze, according to local authorities.
The Suffolk County Police confirmed in a press release that one man was found dead at the home on Wilmington Drive after the flames were extinguished.
The identity of the man and his cause of death remains unconfirmed, pending an autopsy.
“Following a preliminary investigation, detectives believe the cause of the fire to be non-criminal in nature,” read the release, though the investigation is ongoing.
Suffolk County Police declined to comment on whether the deceased is believed to have lived at the home. It was previously reported that an elderly male was the sole occupant and that authorities were searching for him.
Officials previously confirmed in a statement to the Daily News that they had responded to the residence around 4:40 a.m. Police arrived to find the home “fully engulfed in flames.”
Prior to confirmation of a fatality, the Melville Fire Department told the Daily News that the blaze did not appear to have been arson. First Assistant Chief Don Barclay confirmed they currently “have no way of knowing … whether it was intentionally set or mistakenly set.”
“It looks like a toolshed nearby the rear of the house caught on fire, which then spread to the house, when a propane tank let loose,” doubling the size of the blaze for a time, Barclay explained. “It’s not terribly uncommon that tool sheds [catch] on fire.”
Barclay confirmed no firefighters were injured while battling the blaze.
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