Lovettsville House Fire Kills One: Fire Marshal's Office

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — One person died in a Lovettsville house fire on Saturday, June 4, according to a report from the Loudoun County Fire Marshal's Office. Authorities said the total damages exceed $877,000.

In an investigation, officials with the fire marshal's office determined that the fire was "incendiary in nature." An incendiary fire is defined as "a fire that is intentionally ignited in an area or under circumstances where and when there should not be a fire," according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Loudoun County Fire and Rescue units from Lovettsville and Purcellville first received a report of a fire around 8 p.m. on Saturday. They were dispatched, along with deputies from the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, to a garage fire in the 12000 block of Stonehouse View Court in Lovettsville, according to a report from the fire marshal's office.

First responders were advised that there was one adult still in the structure, the fire and rescue system said in an update. Units from Hamilton, Loudoun Heights, Moorefield, Frederick County, Maryland, and Washington County, Maryland all arrived to assist with the fire, as well.

Firefighters on the scene saw a large, two-story home with "significant smoke and fire coming from the garage," according to the report. Before firefighters could approach the home, police established a perimeter, since there were reports of gunfire heard in the home.

"Firefighters worked into the night to extinguish the fire before the Loudoun Fire Marshal's Office could begin their investigation," authorities said in an update. During their search of the home, investigators found the body of a victim who died in the fire.

The medical examiner's office is currently working to determine the identity of the victim and their exact cause of death.

Investigators determined that the fire was deliberately set, and the damages caused by the fire totaled an estimated $877,047.

There were no injuries reported by any first responders, the fire department said.