70-year-old man, cat found dead in burned Pierce County home

Central Pierce County Fire and Rescue said a 70-year-old man and a cat were found dead inside a home that caught fire Thursday morning.

Assistant Fire Chief and spokesman Randy Stephens said that crews were called to the home in the 5900 block of 48^th Avenue East at 7:30 a.m.

Once the fire was knocked down, the man’s body was found just inside the front door.

Officials said the victim’s wife was at work at the time of the fire.

• Slideshow: House fire kills man, cat

Neighbor Teresa Stringham told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Michelle Millman that the man had recently completed cancer treatment and the couple was planning on building a “dream house” on the property.

Stringham's husband was going to be the builder.

“It’s very sad.  They’ve been through so much. They got into a terrible car accident a couple of years ago, and I’m sure they just got through that so, it’s just sad to watch,” said Stringham.

Investigators were at the scene looking for what started the fire,  but say they are leaning toward some sort of electrical problem as the cause.

    Neighbor Christine Imhof said she had just come out to get the morning paper when she noticed smoke and went to investigate.

She found other neighbors had already called 911, so she grabbed her iPhone and captured the below video just after the first fire engine pulled up.

“Flames were coming out of windows and smoke was coming up from the roof,” said Imhof.

Chopper 7 shot this video from over the scene: