A 67-year-old man who died after fire broke out in his burning, cluttered home in Seymour on Wednesday morning committed suicide, according to the medical examiner.
When firefighters responded to 9 Bungay Road at 7:22 a.m. on Wednesday, they found heavy fire and smoke and said hoarding conditions posed a challenge for putting out the flames.
"It was very difficult for the firefighters to move around. It was cumbersome for them to get in. It was burning. The roof started to collapse. We opted to pull them out at that point," said Deputy Fire Marshal Tim Willis.
Once firefighters were able to get inside, they found Wallace Deklyn, 67, who lives at the home.
He was in cardiac arrest and had a gunshot wound, officials said.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Farmington conducted an autopsy and determined that Deklyn died of a gunshot wound to the head and ruled his death a suicide.
The Seymour fire marshal is investigating the fire.
