The state fire marshal is trying to determine the cause of a Friday afternoon house fire that killed a man on Leggtown Road, northwest of Elkmont, an official said.

The body, which had not yet been identified, was taken to the forensic lab in Huntsville for autopsy.

A passerby saw the house on fire at 29326 Leggtown Road about 1 p.m. and telephoned 911.

“When we arrived, about 40 percent of the home was fully engulfed in flames,” said Elkmont Fire Chief Jeff McMunn. “We entered and did a search and found the owner inside. We removed him, but it was too late.”

Firefighters entered the home through a window in the den of the trailer that had been converted to a home and removed the victim through the same window, McMunn said.

About 20 volunteer firefighters from Elkmont, Owens, West Limestone, Piney Chapel and Ardmore battled the blaze but it didn‘t take them long to knock it down, McMunn said.

Some firefighters were still at the scene at 7 p.m. to assist the fire marshal in his investigation.

McMunn did not know much about the victim. He said he is believed to be a Vietnam War veteran who lived alone in the home.