CHINA — A man is dead after a fire that destroyed his house early Sunday in China.

The body of Randall Luck, 65, who lived alone at 13 Washington Blvd. on Three Mile Pond, was found by firefighters outside his burning home, according to Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Smoke rises Sunday from the remains of a house on Washington Boulevard in China, where the owner, Randall Luck, was found dead Sunday morning outside the home. David Leaming/Morning Sentinel

The fire was discovered by a plow truck driver shortly after 1 a.m., according to McCausland.

Luck’s body was examined Sunday by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, but further testing is planned before determining the cause of his death.

Smoke still billowed from the charred remains of the single-family home late Sunday morning.

A next-door neighbor, Jeanne Jirik, said Luck lived alone and did not have pets. She said he was friendly, just recently shouting to her from across their yards to wish her a happy new year.

She said she felt sorry for the man and wished she could have done something to help.

She said the home was once part of a larger estate owned by Luck’s family, and it included much of the land around the home.

Jirik said she and her mother slept through most of the commotion during the response to the fire, waking up around 6:45 a.m. to see firetrucks outside their door and flames shooting out of their neighbor’s home.

“It was pretty shocking,” she said of the fire and Luck’s death.

The home, which had a large fieldstone chimney and a sweeping view of Three Mile Pond, is at the end of the road. An American flag was attached to a tree between the home and the driveway, where a snow-covered minivan was parked.

The one-story home was built in 1965, according to town tax records, and the 3.2-acre property is valued at $158,000. Town tax records indicate the home did not have a heating system. It is listed as a seasonal home.

A team of four fire marshal’s investigators visited the scene Sunday to try to determine how the fire started, according to McCausland. They were no longer at the scene by late Sunday morning.

Fire marshals, according to McCausland, say the fire started in the main section of the house, but they are continuing to seek an exact cause.

Keith Edwards can be contacted at 621-5647 or at:

kedwards@centralmaine.com

Twitter: kedwardskj