HOULTON (AP) – Investigators say a house fire in Houlton that killed a 53-year-old man apparently began in the front end of the dwelling and quickly spread to the rear and up a staircase to the second floor.

The victim was identified as Duane Knapp, who lived alone in the home on Columbia Street. Fire crews used a thermal imaging camera to find Knapp’s body.

A team of four investigators from the state Fire Marshal’s Office was seeking the cause of the Saturday afternoon blaze.

It was the second fatal fire that day. A 93-year-old Palermo man was killed early Saturday when flames swept through his farmhouse.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-02-04-08 0708EST