SEATTLE — A man is dead after being pulled by firefighters from a burning Ballard home Sunday evening near Northwest 61st Street and 30th Avenue, according to the Seattle Fire Department.
"We all ran over there,” said next door neighbor Angie Gerrald. “We were yelling out our neighbor's name."
Gerrald told KIRO 7 she and other neighbors tried to save the man by busting windows, breaking a door and using hoses before firefighters arrived.
"The house was dark but we ended up breaking down the back door trying to reach him and smoke was just pouring out,” said Gerrald, who told us the neighbors were unable to reach the man. "It took a little while for (firefighters) to track down where exactly he was in the house."
Seattle firefighters said they found the man near the back of the burning home after receiving the first 911 call around 7 p.m.
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The man was pulled out of the home and pronounced dead at the scene. Firefighters said no one else was found inside the home.
Investigators are now looking into what started the fire. A fire department spokesperson couldn’t immediately say whether the fire was considered suspicious or whether the man died while trying to escape the burning home.
"Somewhat reclusive but a really funny, sweet guy,” said Gerrald. “Very patient with our kids, our dog.”
Gerrald said she lived next door to the man, who lived alone, for about 15 years. A tough, sudden, loss for her and other neighbors to process.
"When you'd check in on him, he always would have something funny to talk about or joke to make,” said Gerrald. "He had had some troubles over the years, but just one of those nice people that makes up a city block; we're really sad this happened."
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the man’s name once family members have been notified of what happened along with his cause of death.