Police have confirmed one person is dead following a fire that destroyed a home in East Vancouver Tuesday morning.

The remains have been identified by the homeowner as those of the downstairs tenant, a man named Peter who is originally from Kenya and was unaccounted for in the hours after the blaze broke out.

The two-alarm fire was sparked at a property near Skeena Street and 3rd Avenue, and sent a huge plume of dark smoke into the sky near the Burnaby border.

The flames tore through the home and destroyed it, but firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to any neighbouring houses.

Battalion Chief Steve Duncan said the fire came dangerously close to overhead power lines, and that crews also had to contend with the high temperatures that triggered Environment Canada heat warnings this week.

"They're carrying about 80 pounds of gear," Duncan said. "We have to be careful that they don't over-exert themselves."

Firefighters and police are still working to determine what caused the blaze. A hazmat team was seen entering the basement in the afternoon, but it's unclear what they were doing inside.

The homeowners, who live upstairs, told CTV News their family all managed to make it safely, but that their pet cat is also missing.

One resident said his mother noticed smoke inside the home and woke him up so they could escape.

"My mom was like, 'Smoke, smoke, you gotta get up,'" he said. "Everybody seems to be OK."

The family has owned the property for decades, and said they have no idea how the fire could have started.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith