April 18, 2009

Fire officials confirm a man died in a house fire off Bedrock Lane in Albemarle County. They say the victim was the only person in the house.

His family members live nearby and they were at the scene, understandably upset, and trying to absorb what had happened.

So far, investigators aren't sure what caused the fire. Fire officials got the call around 7:30 pm Saturday evening. They had the private road completely blocked off, as they tried to battle the flames and smoke coming through the roof.

Relatives tell CBS19 the victim had grandchildren. Officials confirm he used an oxygen tank for respiratory issues. They're considering the possibility that oxygen facilitated the fire. Officials say they haven't found any cigarettes on the scene.

"No, nothing like that. He did use home oxygen, and we don't know if that had anything to do with it or not, but that's still under investigation by the Fire Marshall at this time," says David Cason, the Monticello Fire Chief.

Six units responded to the fire including Monticello, Albemarle County, Charlottesville, North Garden, East Rivanna , and Scottsville. Fire officials say they expect the investigation to take a couple days as they go through all the evidence and perform an autopsy on the victim.