Man dies in early-morning fire in Attleboro

ATTLEBORO, Mass. (WHDH) -- An early-morning fire killed a 34-year-old man in Attleboro Monday.

The fire started before 1 a.m. on Woodstock Road.

When firefighters entered the home they found the victim deceased by the kitchen door and said he probably came close to escaping.

Firefighters said a neighbor tried to rescue him with a ladder but the man couldn’t get to the window because of heavy flames.

The close-knit street is devastated.

“I looked out the window and all I could see were the flames on the deck,” said a neighbor.

Neighbors said they tried to rescue the man after seeing flames engulf the home, but the man couldn’t get past the fire to the window.

“Sometimes you feel like it’s just not enough, I don’t think it’s any more than anyone else would have tried,” said neighbor Scott Cameron.

Cameron said his daughter and son-in-law ran across the street with a ladder in the hopes of saving the man who grew up in the house.

Cameron said the man lived there with his mother who was out of town for the weekend.

“We weren’t sure if some of the movement we saw was the dog in moving around in there, we really don’t know. We weren’t ready to jump inside, flames were pouring out of the building at that time,” said Cameron.

Neighbors remembered him as a friendly man who loved his two dogs.

“Whenever he saw my husband cutting down trees he would come around and help us out with the dog,” said Luciene Robichaud.

Neighbors said one of his two dogs tried to go back into the house after being rescued, in an attempt to be with their owner.

“They took the dogs outside and then the other dog kept going, he tried to go back to the house,” said neighbor Lucienne Robichaud.

The house was no stranger to fire after burning down 20 years ago when the man who died was only a child. He’s a neighbor that will be sorely missed on this street.

“He was a wonderful kid, he was like one of my own,” said Luciene Robichaud.

“To cut your life that short, it hurts,” said neighbor Mike Barno.

Flames caused an estimated $200,000 of damage to the building.

The victim’s name has not been released. Police are investigating the cause of the fire.