Body found inside East Vancouver home after morning fire

One of the survivors of a fatal house fire in East Vancouver says he is lucky to have escaped with his life.

Police have confirmed that a body was discovered inside a home in the 3400 block of East Third Avenueafter firefighters knocked down a two-alarm blaze.

Lawrence Ramlulives with his parents on the house's upper floor. All three family members managed to get out safely after they noticed the fire at about 8:30 a.m., but the man who lived downstairs did not.

"We were lucky to escape from the upstairs part," Ramlutold CBCNews. "We just see the smoke and my mom managed to get us awake."

He described the death ofhis downstairs neighbour as a "terrible accident."

Vancouver Fire Battalion Chief Steve Duncan said the house was engulfed in flames by the time crews arrived.

"We could see smoke before we even got here," Duncan told CBC News. "The windows were all compromised. The fire was out pretty much almost every window."

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Vancouver police are now working with investigators from Vancouver Fire and Rescue, and a coroner is on the scene.

With files from Meera Bains