Man's body found after fire in house

A man and his mother escaped after neighbors rang their doorbell.
& lt;a href=mailto:siff@vindy.com & gt;By STEPHEN SIFF & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A fire took the life of a city man shortly before dawn today at 336-338 Porter Street N.E.
Neighbors and friends say the victim was a 50-year-old man who lived alone in an efficiency apartment on the house's second floor. The two-floor house had been subdivided into three apartments, but one was unoccupied.
Downstairs resident Brandon York said he escaped from the fire only because neighbors started ringing his doorbell shortly after 4 a.m.
"I kept thinking it was the guy upstairs," said York, who lives with his mother, Amy York, who also escaped unharmed.
But the neighbors didn't stop ringing the bell, "so I got up to get it. The dude said, 'Fire.'"
York said he saw the fire when he returned to the house to let his dogs out.
Damage
The house is severely damaged. There is a gaping hole on the right side of the house on the second floor, and numerous second-floor windows have been knocked out. The home interior as viewed from the street looks as if it is covered in black soot.
"It's junk. It's trashed," said York.
Fire Chief Ken Nussle said firefighters are not yet sure what started the fire. "We don't even know if it started on the first or the second floor," he added.
"It was a lot of fire," said fire Lt. Tony Padgett.
Firefighters arrived after a 911 call at 4:18 a.m.
The Trumbull County coroner's office is investigating.