Neighbours in a quiet north Suffolk street have expressed shock and sadness after an elderly man died and another man was injured in a fire at their home.
Fire investigations are continuing today after the blaze tore through the home of the men – believed to be father and son.
The tragedy unfolded in the close-knit community of Oulton yesterday morning.
Crews from Lowestoft South station were called out at 10.30am yesterday, arriving at the house on Oulton Road North 'within a matter of minutes,' according to a brigade spokesman, to discover the ground floor of the property well ablaze.
Four fire crews battled the flames as firefighters from Lowestoft were assisted by colleagues from nearby Gorleston fire station.
The intensity of the fire was such that witnesses described how smoke alarms in an adjacent home were still sounding in the aftermath of the blaze, which saw the heavily smoke-logged property next door suffer damage.
A brigade spokesman said: 'Suffolk fire service investigators are working closely with police colleagues to establish how the fire started.'
Emergency services remained at the scene of the blaze well into yesterday afternoon as investigations were carried out. The police cordon remains in place today.
A police spokesman said the body was found inside the house and that the cause of the fire was unknown.
Numerous police cars were dispatched to close the road, and provide traffic control at the scene, and a rapid response ambulance vehicle, two ambulances and an ambulance officer from the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust also attended.
A spokesman for the ambulance service said: 'A male patient was taken to the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston by ambulance. There was a second male patient, but sadly there was nothing we could do.'
A neighbour said it was 'a real tragedy'.
He said: 'There were fire crews, police cars and ambulances everywhere.
'It is not the kind of thing that you see in a quiet street like this, but it can happen to any of us.'
He added that he knew the man who had died, and described him as being a 'very friendly' man who would always wave and acknowledge when he walked or cycled past.
Another neighbour, Luke Coston, 21, said seeing the emergency services was a 'definite shock' for those living in the quiet road.
Last night, Oulton parish council chairman Brian Hunter said: 'Our sentiments go out to the family of the man that our community has lost. Certainly Oulton has been affected by this tragic event.'
Do you want to pay tribute to the man who died? Email mark.boggis@archant.co.uk
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