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Police investigating after body found after fire in Roanoke County

The home on Twelve O’Clock Knob Road was destroyed in the early morning blaze.

TIFFANY HOLLAND | The Roanoke Times

A body was found after a house fire early Saturday morning in the 4700 block of Twelve O'Clock Knob Road in Roanoke County.

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Laurence Hammack | 981-3239

Tiffany Holland | 981-3264

Sunday, September 8, 2013

A body was found in a house that burned down early Saturday morning in a remote part of southwest Roanoke County.

About 1 a.m.,firefighters responded to a report of a brush fire after residents in the 4700 block of Twelve O’ Clock Knob Road called 911 and said they could see flames in the distance, authorities said.

When firefighters arrived, they found a two-story wood frame house engulfed in flames and collapsing.

Crews from the Back Creek, Bent Mountain, Cave Spring and Fort Lewis fire stations were on the scene for several hours, and drew water from nearby ponds to douse the flames.

They used pumpers and tankers to keep the fire from spreading to the surrounding woods, and to extinguish and cool the remains of the house. The fire was controlled in about 30 minutes, but it took much longer to cool the debris, according to Roanoke County Fire and Rescue spokeswoman Jennifer Conley Sexton.

A body was later found in the burned-out house. Conley Sexton said investigators from the Roanoke County Fire Marshal’s Office and the police department are working together to determine what caused the fire and the fatality. The identity of the body has not been released, and it has been sent to the medical examiner’s office to determine the exact cause of death.

Police tape surrounded the lot where the charred remains of the house could be seen on Saturday afternoon. The house sat on a hill on the winding rural road and was surrounded by woods .

Conley Sexton said no more details regarding the fire or the fatality will be immediately released.

Saturday, September 14, 2013