SAN ANTONIO – Update:
A man killed in a house fire on the North Side earlier this week has been identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner.
Alfred Joseph Marsch, 80, died from heat and smoke inhalation, according to the ME.
The fire happened just after 7:30 a.m., Tuesday in the 1000 block of West Summit Avenue.
Firefighters defensively fought the flames, but they were too aggressive to go inside the home and make any rescue attempts.
Marsch died as a result of the fire.
Original:
A man is dead following a fire at a home on the city’s North Side early Tuesday morning, according to the San Antonio Fire Department.
The fire was called in just after 7:30 a.m. at a home in the 1000 block of West Summit Avenue, not far from Interstate 10 and Blanco Road.
Firefighters said when they arrived, they found flames coming through the roof of the home. They had to fight the fire defensively, but were eventually able to knock down the flames, fire officials said.
The SAFD said a couple lived at the home and the wife was awake when the fire started downstairs. Her husband, a man in his 80s, was asleep upstairs and she was unable to get him out of the house, firefighters said.
Authorities say the flames were just too aggressive to go inside to make any rescue attempts. The man died as a result of the fire. His name has not been released at this time.
Ramiro Villarreal lives down the street from the home that burned. He said the man who died in the home had lived there for over sixty years.
“It’s terrible to see someone go that way,” Villarreal said. “If I would’ve known I would’ve rushed in right away, but it had already caught flame.”
Fire officials say the fire started with a space heater located downstairs. It was contained to a single home.
According to the San Antonio Fire Department website, as many as 17 units answered the call.