Body found at site of Rockville, Md. blaze

The cleanup continues Friday, following a fire that burned down a two-story house in Rockville, Maryland Thursday night. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)
Around 75 firefighters battled the blaze at the scene. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)
Investigators will spend Friday morning seeking both the cause of the Rockville fire and the home's occupant. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)
Investigators will spend Friday seeking the cause of the Rockville fire. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)
(WTOP/Dennis Foley)
(WTOP/Dennis Foley)
(WTOP/Dennis Foley)
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Investigators will spend Friday morning seeking both the cause of the Rockville fire and the home's occupant. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)

WASHINGTON — Investigators discovered a body in the charred rubble of a two-story Rockville, Maryland, house that burned down Thursday night.

Montgomery County police said Friday evening they have not yet identified the body, although the homeowner — identified as 71-year-old Larry Joseph Pagliai — could not be accounted for.

Police said the medical examiner’s office in Baltimore would conduct an autopsy.

The discovery of the body Friday morning, hours after heavy equipment and a search dog had been brought in to help locate the home’s occupant.

Fire crews had responded to multiple calls in the 16100 block of Willow Lane around 10:15 p.m. Thursday night.

Around 75 firefighters battled the blaze at the scene. It took them about 20 minutes to get the fire under control.

The inferno caused “total structural collapse,” Chief Montgomery County Fire & Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said.

The fire left little more than rubble behind.

Montgomery County Fire & Rescue investigators are still trying to determine the cause and origin of the fire.

WTOP’s Dennis Foley contributed to this report.

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

Teta Alim

Teta Alim is a Digital Editor at WTOP. Teta's interest in journalism started in music and moved to digital media.

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