There was a smoke detector at the scene of a Pitt Meadows house fire that killed a 37-year-old man Tuesday evening, but it had been disassembled, according to firefighters.

The blaze broke out shortly before 5 p.m. at a home on Mitchell Road. Authorities said there’s a slot for a smoke detector just outside the room where the fire broke out, but the device was found on a counter.

Four people survived the blaze but one man, Pitt Meadows resident Christian Johan Serdar, was found dead at the scene. The circumstances are still under investigation, but firefighters said it appears the survivors didn’t realize anyone else was inside the home.

“Talking to the family, there was no indication from them of anybody else being inside. We initiated a secondary search once the fire was extinguished and upon that search we found a deceased male,” Fire Chief Don Jolley said.

Serdar was either a regular visitor or a resident of the home, according to authorities.

One elderly woman and her two grandchildren managed to escape the fire on their own, while her husband – who suffered first and second-degree burns to his face – had to be rescued by firefighters.

The cause of the fire has yet to be confirmed, but firefighters said it is not considered suspicious. 

Crews managed to contain the blaze to the ground-floor bedroom where it broke out, but it still filled the home with smoke, which was seen billowing from the windows.

The RCMP and B.C. Coroners Service are continuing to investigate what happened.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Penny Daflos