A home fire on Friday night killed at least one person in Corcoran and completely razed a building to the ground, according to the Kings County Fire Department.

Battalion Chief Jesse Venegas said they were called out to the 26700 block of Seventh Avenue at 9:30 p.m. to a report of a structure burning.

"Our first engine company to arrive said it was fully-involved even before they got there," Venegas said Saturday. "Combined with the 15 to 20 miles per hour winds at the time of the incident and the age of the structure, there wasn't much we could do."

Six engines and 15 firefighters arrived to battle the flames, but the residence was completely destroyed by the blaze.

The identity of the single victim found inside the building's remains has not yet been released, pending notification of the person's next of kin.

"The cause of the fire is still under investigation," Venegas said. "We are still interviewing individuals and gathering additional information about the incident. There is no apparent cause as to what started the fire at this time."

When asked if the fire appeared suspicious in nature, Venegas declined to speculate. He described the investigation as a "multi-agency response" with both the Fire Department and the Kings County Sheriff's Office looking into the matter.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2425.

(Nov. 21, 2009)