One person was killed in a fire that broke out at a home in northeast Houston Tuesday morning, Houston Fire Department officials confirm.
Firefighters arrived around 9:45 a.m. to find a home in the 5500 block of Bunte fully engulfed in flames.
After extinguishing the fire, the victim's body was found in the back bedroom of the house.
Family members identify the victim as 86-year-old Clinton Russell. They said Russell was a deacon at Kashmere Gardens Missionary Baptist Church.
He was home with his wife when the fire began. His wife made it out safely, but Russell was trapped.
"He was strong in the church. Just a great human being and he'll help anybody and just a great person. He'll be dearly missed," family friend Glenn Jackson said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Clinton Russell, 86, was a deacon at a local church. He passed away in fire on Bunte St. this morning. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/nhEf9auEgu
— Jake Reiner (@Reiner_Jake) March 22, 2016