A man was found dead inside a burning home in Surrey overnight, and homicide investigators are treating both his death and the fire as suspicious.

Flames broke out at a small wood frame house on 124 Street, near the foot of the Pattullo Bridge, around 12:40 a.m. Thursday.

"I came out my front door and saw flames billowing out to the front of the building, out almost as tall as the trees," said Steve Keresman, a witness who called 911.

"From then it was just fire trucks and police for the rest of the night."

Firefighters found a man's body in the property after extinguishing the flames and called for police.

A distraught woman was seen being escorted from the home, and met by a man who hugged her. Neighours told CTV News she and her boyfriend live there.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team was dispatched to the scene, and one individual was arrested. Though the investigation is in its early stages and it's unclear what caused the fire or the man's death, IHIT said both have been deemed suspicious.

"The investigation is still in its early stages, however, early indications are that this does not appear to be a random incident and is between individuals known to each other," the team said in a news release.

The property was cordoned off with police tape, a sight that area resident Joe Lemasurier said is not surprising. He told CTV News the neighbourhood has gone "right downhill" in the past decade.

"One house right at the end of the block, we had three shootings in a row. Three shootings within a month, the same people are still in the house," he said.

Anyone with information on the death or fire is asked to call the IHIT tip line at 1-877-555-4448, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. 

With a report from CTV Morning Live's Nafeesa Karim