SIOUX CITY, IA -
UPDATE: Sioux City Fire and Rescue said in a press release the cause of the fire was a fault that occurred in the electrical wiring to a light fixture in the ceiling of one of the bedrooms.
One man is dead after an early morning fire, Sioux City's first fire death since 2010.
It happened at around 2:00 Thursday morning, and by Thursday afternoon fire officials were still trying to find out what ignited the deadly blaze.
"At 3:00 in the morning Baker down here was pounding on my bedroom window to wake us up, and all the fire trucks, everything out here, we didn't know what was going on and then we seen the house: up in flames," said Sandra Fredericksen, who lives next door to where the fire started.
The fire was at 2908 Robinson Street in Sioux City, a house went up in flames early Thursday morning, leaving only a burnt-out shell of a house.
The fire department said the fire spread through the ceiling insulation and to the home itself.
"It was severe heat, smoke, and fire damage pretty much throughout the home," said Sioux City Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph.
One man, around 40-years-old, was the only person inside when the fire started.
He died after he was taken to the hospital.
Sandra, his neighbor for 15 years, is still in shock.
"He'd come over and talk to us and talk to the boys," said Fredericksen. "He kind of stayed to himself."
Firefighters worked for nearly four hours to put out the blaze.
Sioux City's Fire Marshal says dealing with death is one of the hardest parts of the job.
"It's something that you train for, you do a lot of training on making rescues," said Aesoph. "It's not a skill that, thank God, we don't use very often."
With one man dead and a house destroyed, Sandra's just glad her family and house are safe.
"It's very unfortunate and I'm glad we made it, you know, if we would've had wind it would have took ours," said Fredericksen.
The Sioux City Police Department, Fire Department, and the State Fire Marshal are all investigating the fire.
It's not believed that fireworks or foul play were factors in starting the blaze.
