Officials have identified a 7-year-old boy who was killed in a house fire early Wednesday morning in Hampton, New Hampshire.
The NH Medical Examiner's Office identified the boy Saturday as Nova Demanche.
The cause of death was determined to be "thermal and inhalational injuries from the fire," and the manner of death was ruled accidental.
The fire at 32 Thorwald Avenue was reported around 12:43 a.m., and crews discovered upon arrival that the home was fully engfuled in flames.
Seven of the home's eight occupants were able to escape the burning building.
Firefighters tried several times to rescue the child but were unable to get inside the home due to the fire conditions.
Demanche's body was found in the home after crews were able to douse the flames.
Elvin Palacios said he used to live at the home with his friend and he knew the 7-year-old boy.
"He always put a smile on your face no matter what you did. He was just... you could tell he had a bright future. He was amazing," Palacios said of Demanche.
Local
A woman in the home, identified by a family friend as the child's grandmother, ran a guinea pig sanctuary out of the house. Sixteen guinea pigs were rescued, but at least 20 did not survive the fire.
The origin and cause of the 3-alarm fire is still under investigation.
