A deadly Tuesday morning fire remains under investigation, officials said.
Lake Cities Deputy Fire Chief Chad Thiessen said a call came in about a fire around 4 a.m. Tuesday and within minutes, officials discovered a home fully engulfed in flames in the 1100 block of Hickory Creek Road in Hickory Creek.
“When we arrived, we went into full-alarm response and had to go straight into defensive mode,” Thiessen said. “We could not make entry on the fire, the whole house was fully engulfed in flames.”
He said they were worried someone was inside when they noticed a car in the drive and after investigation, discovered a man —possibly in his 50s — was living there at the time. He was not the owner of the house, officials said.
A few minutes after learning about the sole occupant of the house, a firefighter found a body.
Troy Taylor, chief death investigator for the county, said the man’s remains have not yet been identified. Because of the severity of the burns, his identity will take three to four weeks to process through DNA testing, he said.
Thiessen said the older two-story home was mostly constructed of wood, with some cinder block along the basement side.
He said there were reports about a yellow Labrador retriever never leaving the occupant’s side, but they did not locate any trace of a dog.
Officials estimated the damages to be around $100,000, and the owner of the destroyed home was notified.
Other reports
1000 block of South Avenue B — A man reported his motorcycle stolen from a parking lot Tuesday morning.
According to Denton police, a 26-year-old man told an officer he had paid more than $7,000 for the motorcycle.
700 block of South Interstate 35 — Shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday police responded to a complaint of graffiti at an area realty business.
According to Denton police reports, someone sprayed paint on the exterior walls of the building, leaving a can of spray paint behind.
The area was photographed and the can of paint was collected as evidence, police said.
Roundup
From 7 a.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday:
Denton County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers handled 969 service and officer-initiated calls for the agencies they serve. Forty-nine people were booked into Denton County Jail.
Denton police responded to 297 service and officer-initiated calls and posted 18 reports online.
Denton firefighters responded to 15 medical calls, one vehicle fire, one short circuit, one building fire and one authorized controlled burn and assisted three agencies.
— Megan Gray-Hatfield
