Man's body pulled from Channelview house fire

  CHANNELVIEW, TX (KTRK) -- A tragic fire Saturday in Channelview left one man dead and a family in mourning.

Firefighters were called to a home on Kremmer at Redstone near Beltway 8 and the East Freeway Saturday afternoon.

As the house went up in flames, neighbors say they tried to help save the man inside.

"It was real scary because I knew that there was the possibility that someone was in there, so I was afraid for my neighbor's life," Carmen Elizondo said.

By the time neighbors got word that the house across the street was on fire, there was little they could do to help.

"I was frightened for whoever was in there, so I started breaking all the windows, the back doors and double doors. And yeah, sure enough, there was a lot of smoke coming out," Ruben Elizondo said. "It was pretty scary."

Channelview and Cloverleaf Fire Departments arrived and made a fast attack, extinguishing the flames quickly.

When they searched the home, they found the man's body.

Lt. Dean Hensley with the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office said the victim's father lives on the same street but he was also unable to save his son.

"Once he found out about the fire and saw, there was an attempt with a garden hose, but he said it was just way too big," Hensley said.

The victim's name has not been released. Neighbors tell us he was in his 40s.

According to investigators, the house is not considered a total loss. The victim's bedroom and the roof of the home suffered the most damage.

Firefighters remained at the scene all afternoon, trying to put out hotspots. They even brought in K-9s to investigate the cause of the blaze.

The fire appears accidental, but the cause remains under investigation.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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