85-year-old man killed in 'devastating' house fire in Sparrows Point

BALTIMORE -- An 85-year-old man died early Thursday in a house fire in Sparrows Point in Baltimore County.

Units responded shortly after 2 a.m. to the 2500 block of Snyder Avenue for fire. The first arriving engines found heavy fire conditions and a partial collapse of the roof, officials said. 

Neighbors described the scene that killed Joseph Nicolas as "devastating."

Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire.

Neighbors said the home was fully engulfed in flames.

"There are no words. There's nothing to describe it," neighbor Kristen Gebhardt said. "It was just awful and sad all at the same time."

"It was devastating for the neighborhood to even wake up to something like that," neighbor Tammy Lowery said.

Lowery told WJZ neighbors woke up to a loud boom.

"Which was the house exploding," Lowery said.

Clayton Williams, who lives next door, said he's never seen anything like it. 

"Coming through the roof, it was engulfed," Williams said. "It was completely – flames shooting out – I haven't seen anything that intense before."

A little after 5 a.m., Baltimore County Fire officials confirmed that a person was found dead inside.

Neighbors said the home was occupied by an elderly man they call "Mr. Joe."

"He was always in the house by himself, so I knew that he was in there and I knew he didn't make it," Gebhardt said.

"I see him as I come and go," Williams added. "Sometimes he's just sitting on the front porch and I just wave and stuff like that."

Neighbors told WJZ the man was homebound, possibly on oxygen, and a caretaker would check on him regularly. 

"It's a loss. Nobody knows if he had family or not," Lowery said.