Resident is found dead after an early morning house fire in Madison Co.

MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — Man is left dead after early morning house fire Monday.

“At ten after six this morning my dogs were barking, so when I checked to see what they were barking at, I looked out the front window, and I noticed a big, orange glow from up the street,” said Debbie Barnett who lives nearby.

Barnet describes what she saw on her street of Hopper Barker Road, when she discovered her neighbor’s home on fire and immediately called 9-1-1.

“Well all I could think of is, was Joe in there? Was Joe in there? That’s all I could think of,” Barnett said.

“They pulled lines and made a pretty quick knock down, started their interior search, primary search, and in doing so, found a victim who unfortunately had perished,” said Chief Eric Turner of the Madison County Fire Department.

The fire department says the victim was 72-year-old Joe Collins, and tell us he was a retired Jackson firefighter. Neighbors say he had been living in that home for over 30 years.

“He’s just a sweet gentleman. He loved animals, and we just saw him a week ago, and talked to him at church,” said Barnett. “He’s just a real nice fella; couldn’t be anyone any nicer.”

Investigators say the cause of the house fire appears to be electrical.

“…but it was a while before the firemen could get in. There was just no way for them to get in. It was just a big ball of fire,” Barnett said.

Investigators say the exact cause of Collins’ death has yet to be determined. Investigators confirmed the home was equipped with working smoke alarms.