CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A man was killed in a fire at a mobile home park in east Charlotte Tuesday morning, officials said.
The fire happened around 6 a.m. on Lanterntree Lane, which is just off Albemarle Road and Parkton Road. Multiple Charlotte Fire Department crews responded to the scene, officials said. Four dogs were rescued from the home.
A neighbor said she heard a loud explosion that woke her up. When she got up to see what was going on, she saw flames and smoke outside her back door.
"I heard that explosion," Vickie Gilfillan said. "I saw the flames coming up out my back door. You could see the gray smoke, it was going all up in the air."
"I was standing out here in the front yard and there were flames going everywhere," she said.
Gilfillan said she was concerned a building behind the house would catch on fire and make things worse. She praised the fire department for arriving quickly, saying they arrived within seconds of her calling.
One person was pronounced dead after being found inside a burning home, according to Medic. The flames were under control in just under an hour, Charlotte Fire said. The fire was ruled to be accidental, starting inside an electrical panel near the back of the house, according to investigators.
Family members told WCNC Charlotte reporter Austin Walker the victim's name is Auerilo Marcello, a loving father and grandfather.
Heidi Marcello is Marcello's granddaughter. She said the family gathered outside the home Tuesday morning morning to grieve his loss. She also recounted the memories made at the home, including many captured by her grandfather.
“He was very attentive,” Heidi Marcello said, "recording everything in the moment.” When fall came we would jump in the leaves. He always had pictures of us since we were little. Pictures I didn’t even know existed.”
She said it's difficult for them to come to terms which is why they are relying on the memories they all shared to get them through this difficult time.
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