A body was found and a father and son are unaccounted for following an explosive house fire in Lehigh Township, Pennsylvania.
Bruce Miller Jr., 36, brought his son, Bruce Allan Miller, 10, to a two-story farmhouse on the 1100 block of Blue Mountain Drive Sunday night. Miller was checking on the heating system and pipes of the home, which is under renovation and was built in the early 1900s, investigators said.
Around 12:45 a.m. Monday, officials received 911 calls reporting an explosion and a fire at the property.
"Neighbors saw the fire, the house fully engulfed in flames," Lehigh Township Police Chief Scott Fogel said.
The fire was brought under control at 3:20 am. after firefighters dealt with brutal cold and icy conditions.
"The ground and everything around the remains of the house was just treacherous with all the ice. And even trying to dig through and rake through things was just getting too complicated," Chief Fogel said.
Miller and his son are both unaccounted for. Responders found a body inside the wreckage of the home but they have not yet identified the victim.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
"When I saw the house I just broke down and cried," Stephanie Kline, a friend of Miller's, told NBC10.
Miller was the owner of Better Bids Tree Service and his family runs Miller's Market & Deli, just up the street from where the fire took place.
"We're devastated. Everybody's devastated," Kline said. "He had a big group of friends. My son worked for him like five years."
State Police fire marshals as well as the Lehigh Township Fire Marshal are currently investigating.
