BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A man was killed following an early morning fire in south Bellingham.

The Bellingham Fire Department says that the fire was reported at a home on N Forest Street around 3:30 Wednesday morning, Aug. 12.

Crews arrived to find smoke coming from the basement, where the 80-year-old man was found unconscious. Capt. Dustin Michaelis told My Bellingham Now he was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Three other residents were able to escape the home without injury.

Fire crews were able to contain the fire within the building’s basement.

Michaelis adds that the fire likely began on accident in the bathroom, but the full cause of the fire remains under investigation.