ELBRIDGE --
Update:
The Onondaga County Sheriff's Department has released the name of an Elbridge man killed early this morning in a fire.
Adam Pilipovic, 25, was home alone when the fire started in his house on Powerhouse Road. When firefighters got inside, they found him dead on the first floor.
Detectives and Onondaga County Fire Investigators are still looking into the cause and origin of the fire, but they say it looks accidental.
Posted Earlier:
Investigators are trying to figure out what caused Friday morning's fatal fire in Elbridge.
Flames broke out around 2:30 Friday morning at 1197 Powerhouse Road. The fire was so intense, crews had to battle it from the outside of the house.
Investigators say the homeowner, whose name has not been released, made several calls for help and was on the phone for about eight minutes before the phone lines went dead.
"He apparently was trapped in the house, and wasn't able to get out," said Walsh.
According to Jordan Fire Chief Doug Milton, the house was filled with debris. The front entrance was blocked by a small tractor, and the back entrance had collapsed. He says debris was all over.
"It blocked the exits. It was piled up in front of the door, and it was just piled up in every room," says Milton. "Probably, if it hadn't been that way, the deceased could've made it to the front door and walked out."
Two firefighters in the house fell through the floor, but they are expected to be OK.
Chief Milton says he's seen problems before involving homes with large amounts of clutter, and this fire is a sobering reminder.
"It's a shame people choose to live that way, but they're endangering themselves, and it doesn't give the rescuers half a chance," says Milton.
At this point, there is no word on how the fire started. Crews have started to demolish the house because it is an unsafe structure.
