Fire claimed the life of a Catoosa man Dec. 19, officials said Monday.

Catoosa firefighters responded shortly before 10 p.m. to a Cindy Lane emergency call on Summit Hill regarding smoke coming into the house through vents, then discovered a different home fully engulfed in flames.

“(Firefighters) could see a large amount of fire from the top of the hill,” said Capt. Clyde Ingle with Catoosa County Fire & Rescue on Monday.

He said upon arrival, firefighters thought the flames were from a huge brush fire, but discovered it to be the home of Tommy Bell at 46 New Summit Hill Road.

Twenty-five firefighters responded to the blaze that totally destroyed the structure, Ingle said.

“The cause of the fire is not yet determined,” he said.

Ingle said the remains discovered after the blaze of an unidentified male believed to be Tommy Bell were transported from the site around 3 a.m.

According to reports, Bell’s son Terry also burned to death at the house after attempting to drain gas out of a motorcycle into a wood heater in the 1980s