1 man found dead after house fire in Southwest Garden

ST. LOUIS - A man died early Tuesday morning in a house fire in south St. Louis.

According to the St. Louis Fire Department, the fire occurred around 5:30 a.m. on the 5900 block of Southwest Avenue, in the city's Southwest Garden neighborhood.

When firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke showing from the building, with fire on the first and second floors of a two-family dwelling.

St. Louis Fire Department Captain Garon Mosby confirmed an adult male was found dead inside the building. It’s unclear exactly where he was found.

Evidence at the scene led fire crews to call police to start a death investigation. Mitch McCoy, spokesman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, said police have not ruled this to be a homicide or something else.

Homicide detectives were called to the scene because there was a death involved, but it’s not clear yet if this will be ruled a homicide or something different.

Captain Mosby said firefighters observed signs of hoarding in the building, which made fighting the fire all the more challenging.

We have no reports of any other injuries at the scene.