West Bloomfield is a tight-knit community. For the most part, everyone knows everyone, neighbors said.
That's why the deadly fire that broke out Tuesday night was especially difficult for neighbors to bear.
Yellow tape still blocked access to the home on North County Road A Thursday. The fire broke out just before 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Fire crews found the body of the homeowner inside after fighting the flames.
The sheriff's department is fairly certain they know the identity of the person who died, but the coroner is still conducting an autopsy, Waushara County Sheriff Jeff Nett said.
"It does hit hard up in the West Bloomfield area," said Nett. "There are people I think that know the landowner and it's hitting some of them pretty hard."
It's a difficult situation for even those who didn't know the person killed, one neighbor said.
"This is our neighborhood, our community and out friend," Mary Hoss said. "I didn't even know him, but it made me very sad so those that knew him, I can't even imagine how they feel.
Hoss said this fire has caused her to reach out and become closer friends with her neighbors.
Sheriff Nett said the West Bloomfield Fire Department and State Fire Marshal are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire.
