FALL RIVER — A man died Sunday evening as a three-story apartment building burned on Eastern Avenue, officials said.
The man, who has not been identified, was found on the top floor of the three-unit building. Firefighters came upon his body after they worked their way to the upper level of the structure. They had arrived around 6:30 p.m. to find to find flames licking out of the windows.
“There’s no way anyone could have survived that,’’ said Fall River district fire chief James Mellen.
The response to the fire was made more challenging by the frigid weather, along with the fact that crews from Fall River and surrounding towns were assisting with another blaze in Tiverton, R.I. when the Eastern Avenue fire broke out.
Crews had the Fall River fire under control by about 9:30 p.m. and have not yet determined what caused it.
Mellen said a firefighter was being evaluated Sunday night after slipping and falling. The district chief said the department was fortunate that more rescuers were not hurt.
“It’s a sheet of ice in there,’’ he said. Fire hydrants were operable when firefighters arrived, but a lot of water froze during the response, complicating the cleanup.
The man who died in the fire was the only person in the third-floor apartment, Mellen said. The second-story unit was vacant, and a family on the first level escaped. The displaced family was receiving assistance from the American Red Cross, Mellen said.
Neighbors said the blaze gave off a remarkable amount of smoke, leaving the upper level of the house visibly charred by Sunday night.
Jose Medeiros, who lives across the street from the apartment building, tried to see what was happening.
“I went outside to look but there was so much smoke coming from the house I couldn’t breathe and had to go back inside,’’ said Medeiros, who did not know any residents of the building.
Brandon Hubert, who lives a few blocks away, walked over after he saw the smoke billowing high over the area. He was saddened to learn that one of his neighbors had died, though he did not believe he knew the man.
“It’s a tragedy,’’ Hubert said.
Aneri Pattani can be reached at aneri.pattani@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @apattani95. Reenat Sinay can be reached at reenat.sinay@globe.com.
