SKOWHEGAN — State fire investigators were continuing to probe a Tuesday evening house fire that killed one person, and according to a neighbor, also a dog.

Investigators from the Office of State Fire Marshal returned Wednesday to the charred remains of the home at 31 Waye St. to continue their work, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said via email.

An autopsy on the person who died, whom officials have yet to identify publicly and have described only as an adult, was scheduled for Thursday at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta, Moss said.

Authorities expect to share more details as the investigation continues. 

Family members of those who lived at the home, some of whom also live in the neighborhood, said at the scene Tuesday that an elderly woman and her daughter lived there.

The woman’s dog also died in the fire, said Wally Stetson, who owns the property next door and knows the person who died.

He said he buried the pit bull Labrador mix next to an apple tree behind the burned home.

Stetson was working on his single-wide trailer Wednesday; some of the siding on it melted during the fire. 

Crews responded around 5 p.m. Tuesday to the fire, Skowhegan fire Chief Ryan Johnston said. Police officers had arrived on scene initially, Skowhegan police Chief David Bucknam said.

“The captain, as he pulled out of the station, saw a large amount of black smoke,” Johnston said in an interview at the fire scene, as crews began to leave while others worked to put out remaining hot spots in the charred remains of the single-story home. “He immediately struck a second alarm as they were on the way here.”

Firefighters found the front of the house fully engulfed in flames, Johnston said.

They made a “valiant effort” to try to locate a person inside, who was later found dead, the chief said.

No other injuries were reported. Some people nearby were trying to extinguish the fire when crews arrived, Johnston said.

The home was completely destroyed.

Mutual aid came from the Athens, Canaan, Clinton, Cornville, Fairfield-Benton, Madison and Waterville fire departments, Johnston said. Several Skowhegan police officers and detectives were on scene, too, along with Redington-Fairview General Hospital ambulances.

“Thank you to our mutual aid departments for your assistance,” Johnston wrote in a news release. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family as they get through this difficult time.”

Staff Photographer Rich Abrahamson contributed to this report.