The man killed in a house fire in Kanawha County Monday afternoon has been identified.
Neighbors identified the victim as Richard Garland, 60, of Elkview.
The blaze was first reported at around 4:30 in the Jakes Run Road area.
Kanawha County Fire Coordinator C.W. Sigman said neighbors noticed the house engulfed in flames and called 911.
Firefighters from Frame, Clendenin and Pinch responded to the fire but Sigman said by the time they arrived, it was too late.
“The house was pretty well engulfed. They couldn’t get inside to save him,” said Sigman. “They knocked the fire down pretty quick and they were able to go in there and find him, but it was too late at that point.”
Neighbors told investigators Garland lived by himself and suffered from some mobility issues.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
“There’s nothing that just jumps out and says “hey, this is what caused it,” said Sigman. “They’re looking at all the evidence and trying to figure out what it was.”
Officials from the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the State Medical Examiner’s Office are currently conducting an investigation. Initial reports say the fire looks to be accidental.